The Princess and The Assassin
by SapphireFxxxx
Summary: Erza is the princess of fiore. Her father, the king, is really over-protective after a heart-breaking incident. However, after an attempted murder on the king, leaving him fighting for his life, Erza swore she would have revenge on the assassin. But how could she? She's already fallen for him. Will her love overpower the hate? or will she take him out for good? AU
1. Chapter 1

**New story! my other story is still going, but my computer crashed and it had all my saved document on it... soooo... on with the story!**

**chapter 1: The princess**

* * *

Birds twittered as they flew over a large Castle. They eyed the vibrant green grass on the field behind the large stronghold. Their beady eyes searching for worms, who are unluckily enough to be their breakfast. The birds flew away as a doe stepped out from a nearby tree. The graceful creature turned left and right, her nose twitched as the smell of fresh grass entered it. Her ears darted upwards and her eyes searched the area for any threats. Satisfied that the area is safe, she relaxed and began to feast on the rich green grass.

From behind a nearby bush, vigorous brown eyes watch every movement the doe makes. She slowly lifted her hand to brush her scarlet bangs away from her face, trying to make as little noise as possible. She gripped the wooden bow in her hand tight, and narrowed her eyes. She exhaled sharply and pulled the bowstring back, aiming the arrow directly towards the doe's heart. She moved her leg a bit, trying to get into a more comfortable position. The doe's head snapped up and she tensed in fear. The scarlet haired women held her breath, hoping the doe would return to eating the grass.

The birds began singing again. The gentle tweeting soothing the doe's worries. She lowered her head and resume her feast. The women sighed in relief and concentrated hard on the magnificent beast. The scarlet haired woman was never good with bows. Her signature weapon was the all powerful katana. Unfortunately, she left it in her room, while trying to sneak out the Castle earlier. She squinted slightly, so her eyes could focus on the arrow at the end of the bowstring. 'Perfect.' She mumbled under her breath. She was just about to shoot the arrow when loud galloping could be heard from the distance. The doe's head shot up and she looked around frantically and the birds that were singing stopped, and flew away.

The doe's body started to tremble as the galloping grew closer and closer. She turned and followed the birds lead, looking for cover deep in the forest. The scarlet haired women watch with anger as the doe disappeared into the forest. She stood up from her laying position and looked towards the galloping noise. A person with brown hair and black eyes, wearing elegant clothing arrived, riding a large light brown horse. "There you are Princess Erza.". The Princess looked at him in annoyance, "look what you did Simon! You made my prey run away!". Simon slid off his horse, "the King wants to see you.".

Erza sighed and flung her bow around her shoulders, "what does he want? I was in the middle of hunting a deer.". Simon shrugged, "he says it's important.". Erza brushed her hair out her face and walked towards the Castle. "I can give you a lift if you want me to." Simon called from behind her. Erza turned her face slightly, "I'm fine. I can walk.".

* * *

At the throne room, the King sat on his throne, waiting for the arrival of his daughter. King Makarov was the King of Fiore, he was a fair ruler and loved by all his subjects. Well… nearly all. Erza walked in to the throne and looked at the King. "You wanted to see me father?". The King glanced at her, scratching his chin.

"Why were you out the Castle ground without permission?" He asked.

"I was just out hunting! There's no big deal about it!" Erza huffed angrily, crossing her arms and shooting a glare at him.

"It is a big deal! There are so many dangerous people out there! You could get hurt!" The King argued.

"I won't get hurt! I can fight those so called 'dangerous' people!". Erza's voice echoed in the throne room.

"Erza! They're assassins out there! They could hurt you, or even kill you! I don't want the same thing that happened to your mother to happen to you!" The man responded.

"But father! I'm not a little girl any more! I'm nineteen, almost twenty! I can take care of myself!" The scarlet haired princess screamed angrily.

"It's final Erza! You're staying in your room from now on! I'm having guards to stand outside your door!" Makarov ordered.

"But-" Erza tried to counter argue.

"THAT'S FINAL! YOU'RE NOT LEAVING YOUR ROOM!" Makarov screamed at the top of his voice.

The whole room was quiet, the king and the princess stared at each other for moments. Tears began streaming down Erza's cheeks as she looked at him with pleading eyes. "Please father! You can't keep me in my room forever! I'm not a baby!" She begged.

"No means no." The king concluded. Annoyed by his daughters stubbornness.

Erza grit her teeth in anger, tears now cascading down her face.

"YOU RUIN MY LIFE! I JUST WAS TO BE TREATED LIKE A NORMAL PERSON! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME?!" Erza roared, storming out the throne room.

The king heaved a sigh and massaged his throbbing forehead. "Another argument... Great." He mumbled to himself. A maid came in, minutes after the argument. "My Lord.". The King looked up at the blonde. "Oh, Lucy. How may I help you?". Lucy bowed, "I was wondering if you want me to check on princess Erza." She asked. The King nodded, "please." He said. Lucy nodded and bowed one last time before leaving.

* * *

Erza stomped into her room and slammed the door shut behind her. She fell face first on to her bed and started to throw a tantrum. "WHY WOULD HE DO THIS?!" She screamed at no one in particular. She stopped and stared at the ceiling. Plain silence in the room. She could hear her own throbbing heart beats echoing in her ears. She looked to the side and picked up her most treasured weapon. A katana, golden handle with patterns of flowers engraved into the gold, the blade was made with reinforced aluminum, making it light and easy to swing.

There was ancient writing going across the middle of the lustrous edge. She slid it back into its ivory casing. Erza closed her eyes and imagined a whole new world. A world where she would be living as a normal person. Not having to follow orders and lock herself in a room everyday. A world where she could have something she could never have in this world.

Freedom.

A sudden knock at the door made her jolt up from her laying position. "Princess Erza? May I come in?" A voice asked from behind the door. "Yeah, sure." Erza mumbled. Lucy walked into the room and smiled warmly at the princess. Erza smiled back at the blonde, "Hey Luce. What brings you here?" She asked. Lucy walked over to Erza and sat on her bed beside her.

"Princess you kno-" Lucy started, but Erza interrupted her.

"Just call be Erza, I don't want to be a called Princess." Erza huffed.

"Okay. Erza, you know your father is only trying to protect you. He doesn't want to lose you." Lucy said.

"I know he does! I just hate being locked up in this room my whole life! I'm not Rapunzel!" The scarlet haired princess sighed.

"Yeah... you're not Rapunzel… but, you're father loves you. Can't you just appreciate what he's trying to do and love him back?" Lucy asked.

"I do love him. It's just... I want to be free. There are so many things in this world I want to see. I want the freedom to live and make my own decisions. Why can't I have that?" Erza asked. Lucy raised hand to speak but Erza interrupted her.

"It's because I'm the princess and I have to be protected by the guards, blah blah blah." Erza mocked, trying to imitate her father. She kicked her feet up on to the stone wall.

"You're important Erza! You're the only heir to the throne of Fiore!" Lucy reasoned.

"I don't want to be Queen. Ugh, when I get out this place, I'll go on an adventure. Go to a place no one can find me." Erza said dreamily.

Lucy smirked and headed to the door, "maybe fall in love." She grinned before leaving.

Erza looked at the door as it closed. She looked at her katana and drew out the razor sharp blade, staring at her reflection on the shiny piece of reinforced aluminum.

"Fall in love, eh? Never gonna happen.".

* * *

"Here, 4000J." A man said, holding out a back of Jewls. An azure haired person looks at his hand, his bronze eyes boring away at the bag. A marron tattoo ringing his right eye. "4000? I though you said 100000." He said, his deep voice hinted slight annoyance. The person holding the bag glared at him,

"it's 4000 or nothing kid." He snarled.

The blunette grit his teeth and snatched the bag from his hands. He stood up and headed to the door. "You should make more accurate descriptions on your job request. Otherwise, the people actually doing the job won't be satisfied." He growled, throwing the crumpled job request in his face before leaving. "I think you should calm down.". The bluenette heard the man say. The blue haired man grit his teeth.

"I wouldn't have to manage my anger, if people could learn to manage their own stupidity.".

* * *

**A/N what do you think? The next chapter will probably be updated next week. I'm getting my exam results back this week... wish me luck!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Phew... i manage to get good grades in my examinations. I feel so free now. I want to thank those people who reviewed, followed and favorite this story. And I want to say an INCREDIBLE thanks to Wolfspirit44 for helping me with this chapter. **

**I want to apologise for the wait and I promise the next chapter will be up quicker. **

**On with the story!**

**Chapter 2: The Assassin**

* * *

Fast. Dedicated. Flawless. Cunning. Sexy. These five words are practically the perfect words to describe Fairy Tail's top assassin.

Jellal Fernandes.

He stepped out the darkness as his bronze eyes focused on the carpet of the stone steps. He pulled back his long black cloak, revealing a dagger attached to his leather belt. He gripped the handle and swiftly made his way up the stairs. His mind was focused on one thing, and one thing only.

The money.

He needed the money to help support his two younger sisters. Without it, they'll be out on the streets. Cold. Hungry. Afraid.

He reached the top of the stairs without anyone noticing him. He could hear the loud footsteps of people dancing, the soft music playing in the background and the gentle murmurs of people talking. He closed his eyes and remembered the objective of the mission. To kill Jiemma .

Jiemma was one of the King's noblemen. He was a strict and loyal individual. Yet, he managed to make the top assassin of the strongest guild in Fiore his enemy. A mistake.

A big mistake.

Not only did Jellal needed the money. Years ago, Jiemma sent several troops from the royal army to eliminate the guild. This started a riot which killed several guild members. It was something Jellal will never forgive him for.

No. Jellal wanted revenge.

He moved his azure hair out of his face, which was covered by a black mask. It hid the most prominent feature about his face: His tattoo. He looked at the large wooden doors that lay between him and his prey. He gripped the dagger tighter and closed his eyes. After another moment of thought, he opened his eyes and slipped into the room.

The room was quite dark. There was a large King size bed in the center of the room, a large painting of Jiemma himself, and a bear-skin rug sitting in the middle of the room. Jellal looked around to find the place empty. Suddenly, from the corner of his eyes, he saw a silhouette standing outside on a balcony.

It was Jiemma.

Jellal took in a deep breath and quietly made his way to him. He studied the silhouette, memorising his form for a second. Once he was close enough, Jellal took out the dagger from his belt. It made a tiny sound which Jiemma immediately heard.

Jiemma immediately turned to face Jellal. Right as their eyes met, Jiemma's eyes widened in fear.

"GUA-" he screamed.

But before he could finish, Jellal swung his dagger towards his target's throat, cutting it like a knife through butter. He watch as Jiemma fell back onto the railings of the balcony and then down to the dance floor. Blood stained everything. Screams started to erupt in the room below.

Jellal attached his dagger back on to his belt and started to make a run for it. He went through Jiemma's room and ran down the stairs. Before he could make it down the stairs however, a large group of guards stopped him in his track. The guards started to make their way up the stairs, swords drawn.

Jellal looked around quickly. 'There must be another way out,' he thought.

A thought came to his mind. He grabbed hold of the railings, and tossed himself over. He fell through the air, twisting his body, but landed perfectly. He took off, running past the hallways of Jiemma's house.

The guards followed him, hot on his tail. Jellal knocked over some nearby torches, setting the ground behind him alight. He heard the desperate cries of guards. Now was the hardest part of the job.

Escaping.

At the end of the hall, he saw a large window. He narrowed his eyes and calculated which side of the mansion he was in. He took in a deep breath and carried on running. Jellal was just about to run into a wall, when he jumped through the window, falling on to the ground below.

He took a glance down. A river. Without thinking, he jumped into the water, swimming his way down the current. Jellal swam out of the river, his heart pounded in his chest. He looked at Jiemma's mansion, now on fire.

He took off his mask and pulled the hood on his cloak down. He gripped the mask in his hand hard and whistled loudly.

A large black horse trotted out from the shadows of the forest. Jellal went over to the horse, and took out something from the small pouch dangling from its side. A cigarette and lighter.

He placed the cigarette in his mouth and climbed on the horse. He lit up the cigarette and inhaled deeply, puffing out a cloud of smoke. He gently the kicked the horses side.

"Let's go! Shadow!" He cried.

Shadow reared up his front legs and took off into the night. Silently.

* * *

Lucy paced through the empty castle. Only her footsteps could be heard, echoing down the long hallway. She was thinking about Erza. She felt sorry for her red headed friend. Not only did she lack freedom, Erza was deprived of something all human beings are suppose to have.

Freewill.

Lucy frowned, knowing that Erza would never be able find true freedom in this world if she kept living life the way she did. She walked past Erza's room, and was surprised to find it quiet. She thought Erza would be throwing yet another tantrum; hurling her shoes at the door or screaming like a child.

Strangely, this wasn't the case.

* * *

Erza looked out the stained glass window. She was thinking about what her father said about the Queen. How much she missed her soft voice. Gentle eyes. Beautiful scarlet hair, much like her own. Loving personality. Her death was something Erza will never forget. She remembered it as if it were only yesterday.

It was her 7th birthday. The dancing, singing, talking, drinking, laughter, eating. Then there was the ping of the bowstring from above. The arrow pierced her mother's heart and she collapsed. How helpless Erza felt at that moment. Then it all hit her.

The screaming.

The cries of agony.

The stampeding people.

The blood.

Erza shuddered and looked down at her hands. The thought of her mother's blood staining her hands haunted her. She would never forget that fateful day.

The day she encountered the assassin.

She remembered looking up at the silhouette crouching beside a pillar. Everything was covered apart from the bottom half of his face. Erza recalled holding the lifeless body of her mother and stared at the killer above. The gruesome smile he had on his face sickened her.

Tears began falling silently on her bed as she remembered that this merciless killer is still somewhere out there.

Waiting to kill his next victim.

* * *

The Fairy Tail guild Hall.

A guild full of amazing people. Courageous. Faithful. Loyal. Powerful. They're heroes. Not to the public. But to one another.

Natsu and Gray were just about to prepare for another fight, until a girl called Cana said "where are your clothes Gray?"

Gray looked at himself, his eyes turned white, and his mouth dropped, "WHAT THE?" he asked.

Natsu laughed, "You're such a pervert!" Everyone sitting in the guild hall started to laugh.

Gray snarled, "Shut up, Pinky..." he said abruptly.

Natsu snarled and they bumped heads, staring each other in the eyes. Natsu growled loudly, "I'M GONNA BEAT YOU UP GRAY!"

"OH YEAH? WE'LL SEE ABOUT THAT!" Gray screamed back.

"I'M ALL FIRED UP!" Natsu yelled, grinning.

A white haired women looked at her surroundings. Her name is Mirajane Strauss, the guild's bartender. She has a kind and warm personality. Sometimes, the guild called her 'the she devil' because of her capability of assassinating so many people in one day.

But none can compare to the guilds best assassin.

Mira smiled and started cleaning cups at the counter. Cana was gulping down her booze like there was no tomorrow, and Natsu and Gray were fighting. It was just another regular day at the guild hall.

The fighting stopped when the doors to the guild swung open. Heavy boot steps could be heard and the entire guild fell silent.

There he was.

The guild's top assassin. He looked around with his intense bronze eyes. Water dripping from his cerulean hair and on to his well-built chest. He dug around in his pocket for a minute before dragging out another cigarette and lighter. The guild watched as he lit it and took in a long breath.

He walked over to the request board and took a job. Walking out the guild, he turned to his friends.

"Well… carry on." Jellal said, gesturing his hand.

The entire guild shrugged their shoulders and carried on what they were doing. Natsu and Gray continued fighting, while Cana carried on drinking. Jellal took one last glance of the hall and walked out the door. His black cloak waved dramatically behind him.

A young girl with sky blue hair approached the bartender. "When do you think he'll be back?" She asked.

Mira smiled warmly at the young girl. "Don't worry Wendy, your brother will be back before you know it." She said cheerfully.

Wendy looked down, "it's just that… he's always doing missions and doesn't have anytime to spend with me and Juvia." She said sadly.

Mira gently patted the girls blue hair "Don't be upset Wendy. Jellal told me that this is going to be his last mission."

* * *

Thunder rumbled overhead and the sky lit up with cracks of lightning.

Jellal mounted himself on to his horse. "Hee yah!" He cried, taking off into the forest. The roaring sky erupted with bullets of rain, pelting down on to the assassin.

* * *

**I was planning to change this story onto an M rating. I wanna try writing a Lemon. **

**What do you guys think? **


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm sooooo sorry for the late update... school has been hectic lately. i was suppose to update on Thursday, but i was away in a school trip. Yesterday i was at school... i have to go school on Saturdays now, since i do two extra subjects -.- **

**i needed to finish this chapter and i got some ideas from my trip. i was doing fencing, so that helped me with this chapter. I know i won't be able to update next week, since i'm in school till 8.**

**i want to thank those who followed an reviewed. it really means a lot to me. Another thanks to Wolfspirit44 for the suggestions.**

**chapter 3: first encounters.**

* * *

The King sat at his desk. Reading through several pieces of paper. He sighed and massaged the bridge of his nose, thinking about Erza. She had to be safe. She was his daughter, and a good father always keeps his daughter safe.

"Why have you got to be so stubborn Erza?" He asked himself.

Makarov didn't know much about parenthood and always found it difficult to communicate with Erza. Every time he tried to talk some sense into her, it would usually end up in a massive argument. With Erza storming off.

Suddenly, there was impatient knocking at the door. "Your highness!" The person behind the door cried. The King frowned and looked at the door, "come in." He called, tidying the desk. The door flew open and a man with marron hair rushed in.

Makarov raised a brow, "Commander Cobra. What's the matter?" He asked sternly.

Cobra bowed quickly and then dug his hand into his pocket. He pulled out a small note and handed it to the King. Makarov eyed it cautiously, took it and opened the letter. His eyes shot out his skull and he opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out.

Jiemma has been assassinated.

He shot up from chair and looked at Cobra. "When did you get this?!" He asked shakily.

"Late this afternoon Sir." He replied.

The King looked around quickly. Realisation hit him hard.

Erza.

He sprinted out his office and raced towards Erza's door. 'Erza. Please be safe!' He thought, mumbling some prayers.

He reached her door and started to slam his fist on it. "Erza! Open the door!". Simon saw the King and joined him. The two banging on the Princess' door. Makarov clenched his fist harder, "ERZA! OPEN THE DAMN DOOR!" He cried.

No answer.

Simon grit his teeth and barged the door open. His sheer power ripping the door off its hinges. The two stormed the room, looking around desperately. The bed was fixed neatly. No clothes on the floor.

No Erza.

Makarov's breathing quickened. He walked back and forth in frustration, thinking about his poor little girl. Outside. With darkness closing in, Makarov knew that he had to find her quick.

Before they find her.

* * *

"Blacksteel. I need some new equipment." Jellal said, looking around the smithy.

Blacksteel Gajeel. Fairy tail's blacksmith. He can make any weapon his comrades desire. He's really good at working with iron and steel. Hence the name 'Blacksteel.'. He has long black hair and unusual red eyes.

"Why's that?" He grumbled picking up several pieces of metal and throwing them on the fire.

Jellal grabbed a stool beside his foot and sat down. Pulling out a cigarette and lighting it with the fire that was blazing next to him. He took in a deep breath, smoke filing his lungs. The tip of the cigarette glowing slightly. He blew out a cloud of tension and looked at the blacksmith, hammering the metal.

"A kill must be done tonight." He said coolly, taking in another puff.

Gajeel stopped hammering the metal and looked at him. "You're in luck Mr Fernandes." He said, grinning from ear to ear.

Jellal raised his head and threw the butt of the cigarette in the fire. "What have you got?" He asked curiously.

Gajeel went and took out a bag from under his tool shelf. He opened it and pulled out a piece of metal, shaped to fit around someone's knuckles. "This is a knuckle duster." He said, throwing it over to him.

Jellal caught it and slipped it onto his fingers. "What's so special about them?" He asked.

"This baby is designed to increase the force of a punch. The metal sticking out of your knuckles would make your victim more likely to fracture their bones. This is useful when your primary weapon has been disarmed." Gajeel explained.

Jellal admired the piece of metal around his fingers, "Anything else?" He asked.

Gajeel threw a large sheathed sword over to him. Jellal looked at him. "For me?" He asked.

Gajeel nodded, "Gee hee. It's a thank you present for killing Jiemma." He smirked.

Jellal's fingers brushed against metal. He pulled the sword from its golden sheath and held it out in front of him. The silver blade shimmered beside the dancing flame. He turned it over in his hand, impressed at the skills of the blacksmith. The metal handle fitted into his hand perfectly.

He traced the carvings on the handle of the sword, his fingers lingering over the rubies and diamonds that had been melded into it, black gems nestled against white. "I like it." Jellal said, spinning the sword around his hand.

Gajeel nodded and watched the assassin as he stood up and attached the blade on to his leather belt.

Jellal walked out the smithy. He jumped on to his horse and took in a deep breath. His bronze eyes focused on the horizon up ahead.

It's harder to heal than it is to kill.

* * *

Erza's face was buried into the neck of her horse. She was trying hard to contain her tears. Erza couldn't stand staying at the Castle any longer. It reminded her so much about her mother. The scarlet haired Princess didn't want to forget her, because she wasn't just a mother to her.

She was also her first friend.

"Axe, Why does father have to be like this?" Erza mumbled into the horses neck.

Axe snorted loudly and rode on faster and faster. All that could be heard were the loud scampering of the valiant white steed bouncing off the whispering trees.

All of a sudden, Axe came to a halt. Erza sat up from her slumping position and the horse shifted to her movements. Erza gently stroked Axe's neck.

"What's wrong Axe?" She asked.

Axe reared up its front legs and whinnied loudly. Erza slid down off his saddle and looked down at the ground. Her eyes widened slightly when she saw some blood on the forest floor. An unpleasant wind crept by like an unwelcome thought, making Erza shiver.

She stood up and patted the horse's snout. "Axe, stay here. I'll be back." She whispered. The steed bobbed his head in agreement with the Princess.

Erza turned around and followed the trail of blood. She listened to the gentle splashing noises mixing with the gurgling of a nearby river. Her eyes were narrowed. She took each individual step carefully.

Erza stepped out from the trees and saw the stream. Something by the river bank caught her eyes, making them gleamed with interest. The slow moving and gentle rippling of water made the natural landscape incredibly peaceful.

She stood by the bank and looked down. Her brow quirked in confusion when she saw the golden sheath of a sword lying beside the slow moving water.

Beside it was a piece of metal. Erza picked it up and looked at it carefully. "What the hell is this?" She mumbled to herself. Her eyes averted to the sheath and then back to the strange piece of metal. They both have one thing in common.

They were covered in blood.

Erza picked up the golden sheath. A lions head was carved in the middle of it, where the crimson liquid was splattered upon. Several pieces of andradite and turquoise surrounded it. One question flew into her head

'Where's the sword?' She thought to herself.

She suddenly felt a sharp prick on her right arm. She jumped in surprise and faced the unlucky person who startled her. Erza's narrowed her eyes at this mysterious person.

He was a tall, well muscled man. He wore a long black cloak, a black tight muscle shirt and a pair of black baggy pants, tucked into his boots. He wore a mask that covered mostly his face. Erza could only see his fiery bronze eyes. A bandana and a silver forehead protector hid the remainder of his face.

He was pointing a large silver blade at her. His eyes burning deeply into her legitimate brown eyes.

* * *

Jellal looked at the women with his sword pointing towards her neck. She was a stunning young women. Deep sparkling brown eyes. Plump lips. Beautiful scarlet tresses. She wore a white blouse with a blue ribbon. A blue skirt and black boots.

"You're a long way from home. Aren't you?" He asked.

The scarlet haired women cleared her throat. "I could say the same thing for you." She sneered.

* * *

Erza back away slightly. "Who are you?" She asked.

"I'm someone you don't want to know." The mysterious man said. His voice muffled by his mask. Erza shuddered at his deep, cool voice. She looked at his sword for a moment. A million thoughts flying around in her head.

In a flash, she drew out her katana from her ivory sheath and connected her blade with his. The vibrations causing the two to retreat their weapons. She stepped back slightly, eyeing every single move the mysterious person made. She narrowed her eyes. Studying his strength.

'Tall. Well muscled. Right handed.' She thought. Erza dashed towards him. Her katana hungry for the taste of his blood. She swiped her blade towards him, but he retaliated with a backswing.

After he retreated his sword slightly, Erza immediately went for his throat with a foreswing. But the guy leaned back. The blade missing his throat. Erza snarled in frustration and attempted to slash him again. He dodged the first and met the second with his long sword. The impact of the attack forced Erza's katana back. But it wasn't enough to knock it out her hand.

* * *

Jellal studied the scarlet haired goddess in front of him. She was beautiful. But he won't let her best him in his own game. Now it was his turn to make his move. He stepped forward and swung his blade. She twisted her body slightly. The blade flying past her .

He huffed in annoyance and charged forwards. He slashed upwards, while the scarlet haired women ducked and went for his upper torso. She delivered a blow to his abdominal region. The attack sliced the midsection of his shirt, missing his flesh by millimeters.

Jellal staggered back. Making the scarlet haired women smirk. She swung. Her katana misses, though not enough to eat more fabric of his clothes. Jellal had to admit that she was pretty impressive.

But not as good as him.

Her eyes narrowed, and she glared at him. Jellal lifted his sword. The scarlet haired women bolted towards him. Jellal stepped to the side and the women glided past him.

He turned to face her and saw her blade heading straight to his face. He parried the blow by holding his sword vertically. Jellal pushed his sword forward, shoving her away from him.

The women grit her teeth and lunges towards him. Jellal moved his sword out and touch his on the inside of her blade. He took a step forward and held his sword diagonally. He tugged at his sword hard and her blade flew out her hand. Landing on the forest ground.

* * *

Erza panted heavily, trying to catch her breath after that fight. She watched as the man close the distance between them and held his sword to her throat. She walked back slightly, but stopped when she felt her back press against the tree.

What a coincidence.

Erza looked at the man before him. His sword pressing on to the pulse point on her throat. She looked at him closely, her eyes locking with his steely bronze eyes. His gaze sent shivers down her spin. She was surprised that he was able endure all her attacks. Let alone defeat her.

Who is this person?

There was a moment of silence. All that could be heard was the gentle gushing of the river beside the two. Erza spoke,breaking the uncomfortable silence. "Who are you?" Erza asked, ripping her gaze from his and looking at her sword several feet away from her.

"I can't tell you that." He said blankly.

Erza looked at his hands. He was trembling. The man was hesitant about whether to drive the sword into her throat. She was mesmerized by how intense and deep they were. "At least tell me you're name. It's rude to cross blades with a women and not tell her your name.".

The man's eyes widened, "my name?" He asked. "It's… uh… Mystogun." He lied.

"You hesitated." Erza said, glaring at him.

"So what?" Mystogun asked.

"Mystogun. That's a strange name." Erza mumbled.

Erza heard stampeding in the distance. Mystogun recognised the stampeding as the galloping of many horses. He cursed and re-drew his sword. Picking up the sheath and slid his sword in.

He picked up his blood stained knuckle duster and turned to Erza. "Until next time." He said, his gaze softening as he turned away and walked into the forest.

Erza watch as he melted in with the trees. Disappearing into the darkness. The galloping got louder and Erza turned around. Shocked to see the entire army and her very angry father.

She gave him an innocent look, "Hey dad." She greeted.

Her father got off his horse and looked at Erza. His face was red, eyes narrowed and there was a large vein throbbing on his forehead.

Now Erza's in trouble.

* * *

**Terribly sorry if this wasn't as good as you expected it to be. And sorry again for the late update... next chapter will probably be up next weekend.**

**I'm still rather hesitant about the lemon... Not sure whether to do it or not**

**until next time peeps!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Life really hates me. I FEEL SO DAMN ILL! My nose is leaking like Niagara falls and my head feels like it's about to explode. But that won't stop me from getting this chapter up! Again, thanks for the reviews. It makes me feel very happy that you all are liking the story.**

**chapter 4: An unexpecting request**

* * *

"Father! Let me go!" Erza screamed, trying to break free from the King's grip.

"No! If I let you go! You'll run off again!" He said, pulling her towards her room.

"Why are you so overprotective?!" She asked angrily. "I can take care of myself!".

The King opened the door to her room and entered it. "Erza, stop screaming at me! I just want to make sure you're safe!" He cried.

"You don't understand, do you? I don't want to be locked up in this room! I don't want to be protected!" She yelled.

The King raised his hand to speak "Erza. Look at what happened to your mo-" he said, but was interrupted.

"I know what happened to her! You don't have to keep repeating the fact that she was killed by an assassin! I know!" She growled.

The King sighed. His eyes softened. "I just don't want to lose you." He spoke.

Erza huffed in annoyance and turned away from him. Makarov walked over to her."Don't you see Erza?" He asked. "This is what we want." He spoke, more gently.

"No!" Erza snapped, "it's what YOU want," She snarled.

Makarov was taken back slightly. Never had he seen Erza so angry before. He felt slightly guilty that he made her feel like this. He turned away and walked out the door, slamming it shut and locking it from the outside.

Erza shrieked and threw one of her boots at the door. She pulled out her katana and began slashing the stone wall. For the first time, Erza had felt free when she fought that mysterious guy in the forest. She felt so alive.

So different.

She fell on her bed and growled angrily. She knew there was no getting out this situation. Erza would give up anything to have that duel again. She gave out a frustrated cry and looked at the wooden door.

"I HATE YOU!"

* * *

A woman with vibrant blue hair and ocean blue eyes glared at Jellal and scoffed. She sat at the sofa in front of him. "Dammit Jellal! Wake up!" She screamed.

Jellal sighed in annoyance and turned to face her. "What do you want Juvia?" He asked.

Juvia narrowed her eyes. "Where the hell were you last night?!" She asked. "Wendy was worried sick about you!".

Jellal opened his eyes and sat up. "That's none of your business." He replied.

Juvia rolled her eyes. "Jellal. You said you'd stop doing these jobs." She sighed.

Jellal had a mini flashback of what happened in the forest last night. When he came across a woman with beautiful scarlet hair and sparkling brown eyes . She was so different to the other girls. Smart. Strong. Attractive. Quick.

"Jellal! Are you listening to me?" Juvia asked angrily.

Jellal snapped out his trance and looked at her. "O-Of course!" He lied.

Juvia threw her hands up in annoyance and stood up. "What the hell happened to you Jellal?! You never used to be like this?!" She growled.

Jellal watched as the women stormed away. He groaned and fell back onto the sofa. "What the heck does she mean? I haven't changed." He mumbled to himself.

He heard the door open. Jellal turned his head to look at this visitor. His eyes widened.

It was the landlord.

* * *

Makarov sat at the conference room. There was babbling of efficient-sounding voices, a scurrying back and forth with documents, and an eerie sound of the wind seeping through the cracks of the windows.

"Your highness. We haven't got any guards to watch your daughter." Lahar said, lowering his head.

The King looked at the black haired man, "why not?" He asked.

Doranbolt cleared his throat, "because they're guarding the palace. We already have a few standing outside Miss Scarlet's room." He explained.

"I want to make sure no one goes in, or comes out her room." The King spoke.

Simon leaned back on his chair and puffed out his cheeks. "But your highness, there are no guards left." He reminded.  
Lahar raises his hand "Don't worry General Simon. We'll do our best to ens-".

The King interrupted him, "you're best wasn't enough Lahar. Your men failed to protect Lord Jiemma in his own home." He reiterated.  
Lahar's head drop in shame. "Forgive me for letting that happen." He said.

Makarov sighed, "I'm sorry Lahar. I'm just really worried about Erza." He said.

"Don't worry my King. We'll make sure nothing happens to her." Doranbolt said reassuringly.

Makarov buried his face into his hands and huffed. He felt like a horrible father, divesting Erza of her life. But he had to protect her.

He just had to.

* * *

Jellal walked into the guild swiftly. Everyone turned their heads to look at the blue haired assassin. Even Natsu and Gray stopped fighting to find out what the ruckus was. Jellal was followed by his two sisters, Wendy and Juvia. He rushed towards the request board and tried to look for a decent job.

"Shit…" he grumbled under his breath. He rummaged through all the jobs on the board, unable to find a high paid request.

A muscular man with blonde hair and a lightning shaped scar on his right eyes approached Jellal.

"I thought that you're not doing anymore jobs?" He asked.

Jellal looked at him and then to his sisters, who were at the counter with Mira. "Laxus, I need a high paid job." He said.

Laxus scanned the request board, "why's that?" He asked curiously.

Jellal pursed his lips, "the rent money is due and I haven't paid the rent for a while." He said. "If i don't pay by the next two day, they're going to kick us out the apartment.".

Laxus' eyed widened, "oh… what about your previous jobs?" He asked.

Jellal leaned back into a pillar and slid on the ground. He ran his fingers through his thick azure locks. "I needed 160000J… I only had 4000J." He mumbled."I don't want Juvia and Wendy to live out in the streets! They don't deserve this!" He cried.

Not knowing what to do, Laxus looked away and didn't say a word.

Jellal sighed and clutched his blue locks. He was just baffled at the situation he was in.

For the first time, Jellal felt defeated.

Erza slammed her hand on the door, unable to force it open. She tried to barge it open. But that didn't work either. Her arms were covered in grazes where her skin harshly came in contact with the wood.

Erza whimpered and rested her forehead in the door. Despite trying her best, she felt that slim chance of escaping slipping away.

Out of reach.

She turned around and slumped on the wall. The amount of times her father has made her cry. Her blood boiled in her veins. She screamed in anger and punched the door. The loud bang echoing in her empty room.

She slumped on the wall. Every since her father locked her in her room, her mind would get clouded about the outside world.  
Unfortunately for Erza, she has never experienced anything beyond the forest that surrounds the castle.

And she never will.

* * *

Several miles away on the outskirts of Fiore, a meeting was being held in a small pub. Four people sat around a table, their faces hidden by the hood on their cloak.

"What about Erza?" A man asked, picking up a bottle of whisky.

"We shouldn't worry about her. She's useless now that she's locked up in her room." A female voice replied.

Another hooded figure joined the four. "Now, all we need to do is get rid of Fairy Tail." He said pulling out a job request.

"What about the King?" One of them asked.

The person holding the job request chuckled darkly. "Don't worry, I have it all planned." He sneered.

The female nodded slowly, "will Jellal take the bait though?" She asked.

The man looked at the job request with an evil grin.

"He won't see it coming."

* * *

Jellal walked through the streets of Magnolia, feeling very distressed. The only thing going through his mind was the safety of his two younger sisters.

Jellal made a promise.

He promised to always keep his sisters safe.

He sighed and shakes his head. "I'm a terrible brother..." he mumbled to himself.

His job has caused him to distant himself from them. He would always be out, taking on jobs that would hopefully pay the rents. But in the end, it never did. Make promises that he would always break.

His father's words suddenly came to him, and Jellal winced, remembering that horrific day.

_A young Jellal sat in the living room, playing with his toys. His two sisters, Wendy and Juvia were at their auntie's house. He started to bash the dragon into the knight._

_Suddenly, a man with similar features as the young boy walked into the living room. "What are you up to Jellal?" He asked, sitting at the sofa in front of Jellal._

_"I'm playing dragons and knights. You wanna play with me dad?" Jellal asked, holding out his knight._

_His father chuckled and took the toy. "Sure, why not?" He asked._

_The two began playing dragons and knights. But Jellal stopped and looked at his father. His father quirked his eyebrows, "What's wrong Jellal?" He asked._

_Jellal looked at the person he loved and cared for most. "How do I become strong like you?" He asked, tensing his biceps._

_His father gently placed a hand on his head, "my son. You're already strong. You've proven to me that you're already a grown up." He said, smiling from ear to ear. "There is enough strength within you to overcome anything in life. You just have to remember that nothing can dim the light which shines from within."_

_Jellal looked at him with a confused expression. "Eh?" He asked. His father chuckled again and handed him his toy. "You'll understand someday."_

_All of a sudden, the door was forced open. The two turned their heads to see who busted into their home._

_It was the army._

_"General Siegrain Fernandes?" The leader asked._

_Siegrain looked at his son, "Jellal, go to your room." He commanded. Without a second thought, Jellal raced into his room._

_"General Siegrain, we put you under arrest." He man He man who He man who previously spoke said._

_Siegrain's eyes widened, "why? I didn't do anything wrong." He said calmly._

_"For committing regicide. Betraying your own people." The soldier explained. "Take him away."_

_The guards tackled him on the ground. Siegrain howled in pain when they twisted his arm back. "LET ME GO! WHAT ABOUT MY SON AND DAUGHTERS!" Siegrain cried._

_Jellal sprinted into the living room. His face turned pale when he saw the soldiers holding his father on the ground. "Dad! What's going on?!" He screamed desperately._

_The soldiers picked Siegrain up and led him out the door. Siegrain started to struggle against them. He forced his head back, head butting the guards behind. He broke free and ran towards Jellal._

_Jellal threw his arms around his dad's neck, crying uncontrollably on his neck, "Dad… don't go! Please!" He begged._

_Siegrain gripped his son tight, "Jellal, Promise me something." He whispered, pulling him out their embrace and looking into his tearful eyes. "Promise me you'll take care of your sisters. They need their big brother to protect them." He pleaded._

_Jellal stood, frozen in shock. The guard slammed his fist into Siegrain's gut, making him spew some blood and gasp for air. He clutched on to his stomach and started to cough. Another guard smashed his elbow in to his upper back. Siegrain cried out in pain. He lost balance and fell face first on to the ground._

_"FATHER" Jellal cried, running to his father. The guards held his sword out to the child. "Stay back. Or watch your father die." He threatened, holding his sword against Siegrain's throat._

_They hoisted him up and took him outside. Jellal ran after his father. But a soldier pushed him back. "Keep away kid. Your father's a criminal. He deserves it." He sneered._

_Jellal shook his head, "No! My father is a good man! He won't do anything to harm anyone!" He screamed, seeing the soldiers violently beating him and roughly throwing him into a carriage._

_In a flash he was gone. His father, taken from under his nose._

_Just like that._

_Jellal cried out in agony. "DAD!"_

Jellal shivered at memory.

"I'm sorry father... I'm breaking yet another promise." He whispered to himself.

He was a hopeless brother.

Jellal came across an alley where a sees a person casually leaning against the wall. He was a tall, very muscular man. His face was covered by the hat on his head, and he wore a black suit, along with black leather gloves.

"I see you're looking for a high paid job." He said, standing up right.

Jellal narrowed his eyes. "That's none of your business." He growled, brushing past him.

"The reward is 6 million jewls." He said quickly.

Jellal stopped walking and faced him. "6 million?" He asked, walking towards the dealer. "How would I know you're not a scam?"

The dealer gestured to a nearby pub. "We can negotiate." He suggested.

Inside the pub, the dealer looked around for the job request in his briefcase.

Jellal drew out a cigar and lighter. The dealer raised an eyebrow as he lit it and took a long drag.

"I didn't know you smoked." He said through his teeth as he took out the request from his case.

Jellal blew the cloud of smoke into his face causing him to go into a coughing fit. "Is there a problem with that?" He asked.

The dealer shakes his head, handing the request to him. Jellal's face turns pale as he immediately recognized the picture on the request.  
Around him, everything was in fast-forward while he was motionless in the middle of it all. His heart suddenly thumped louder than the people talking around him. He stared, uncertain what to say. His mouth opened, forming a failed reply.

It was the King.

* * *

**The next chapter will probably be up later today or tomorrow. I still feel kind of bad letting you all wait for the upcoming chapter. Well, i'm off to get some meds for this stupid chest infection. **

**I'll see you guys later perhaps.**


	5. Chapter 5

**SOO SORRY! I was meant to update yesterday. But i was still ill yesterday and was in bed all day. **

**Mikasa-Chan- when i read you review, it managed to put a smile on my face. Despite me being incredibly ill.**

**For the rest of you lovely people who reviewed, i would like to say a humongous thanks!**

**chapter 5: The killer inside**

* * *

Jellal stares in shock at the request before him. His heart pounded hard in his chest. After a few minutes, he manage to get his thinking straight. "I can't." He whispered, inhaling the smoke to ease his shock.

The dealer raised his hat slightly, his black eyes piercing Jellal's bronze eyes "Why's that?" He asked.

Jellal pushed the request towards him, "I know I'm an assassin. But I can't kill the King." He said blankly.

"I thought you desired some money?" The dealer questioned. "I'm giving you 6 million jewls as a reward.".

Jellal threw the butt of the cigarette on the ground, "I do. But I don't trust you. You could be a scam." He reasoned.

The dealer pulled out a large bag full of jewls and threw it in front of Jellal. "Inside that bag is 6 million jewls." He said.

Jellal stared at the bag of money. Despite the offer, he still couldn't accept the job. "No. I can't." He said quickly, averting his gaze from the bag of jewls.

"Sir. 6 million Jewls is a lot of money!" The dealer said, trying to convince him. "I'm sure you won't be able to find another request that rewards you with more than 6 million Jewls.".

"I know." Jellal said. He moved slightly closer to the dealer. "But do you really think I'm gonna infiltrate the Castle without causing trouble? There is more than one hundred soldiers guarding the Kings palace.".

The dealer chuckled, "I know. That's why I'm also giving you something that'll help." He said pulling out something from his briefcase and placing it in front of the blue haired man.

Jellal glanced down at the device. The metal barrel glinted in the dim light. It had a a leather handle which contrasted with the shine on the barrel. He picked it up. It was rather heavy and the handle felt cold against his hands. He slid his fingers across the trigger of the strange mechanism. "What is this?" He asked.

"That, my friend, is a gun. Only the high ranked generals possess this weapon." The dealer said, holding his hand out.

Jellal placed the gun back in his hand, "what the hell does it do?" He asked, raising his eyebrow.

"This device can shoot out these metal pellets called bullets. It can cause serious damage to your victim." The dealer explained, pulling out a bullet from his pocket. "This bullet can also penetrate the thickest of armory.".

Jellal looked at at the dealer and then to the gun. "I'm sorry. I'm not doing it. Go ask someone else." He said, standing up and walking away.

The dealer sighed, "I thought I was asking the best assassin in fairy tail. But it looks like I was wrong." He said sympathetically.

Jellal stopped in his track and turned to look at the dealer. "6 million jewls?" He asked.

"6 million Jewls will be yours if you complete the task." The dealer said, sipping his drink.

Jellal closed his eyes. Thinking about Juvia and Wendy.

He has to do it.

He needs the money.

Jellal opened his eyes. Left with no other choice, he accepted it. He exhaled sharply, thinking about his father.

He would've wanted this.

His vengeance descends perfectly. Sudden, like a curse from heaven.

* * *

Erza looked out the window. She watched as the sun rose slowly into the dull morning sky. She looked out the glass panes as the colors made by the rising sun changed, growing more vivid with the passing time. Making the sky more radiant as it ascends higher and higher.

She sighed and thought about how amazing it would be to witness the sunrise from that hill in the distance. Watch as the sun crawled from beneath her feet. The thought made her think about her father.

Maybe she was a little harsh on her him.

The door opened and Lucy walked into the room with a tray of food. "Hey Erza. I've got your breakfast." She said, handing Erza the tray.

Erza looked at her blonde friend. Then to the tray. "I'm not hungry." She murmured.

Lucy frowned and set the tray aside. She sat next to her scarlet haired friend. "Erza, everything okay?" She asked.

Erza huffed, "I think I might have been a little suppressive towards my father..." she explained.

Lucy placed a hand on her back. "Why don't you go apologise?" She asked.

Erza scoffed, "I can't Lucy. I'm locked in my room." She said. "I have to be protected.".

Lucy grinned, "I've got an I idea!" She shouted, clenching her fist. "I'll sneak you out your room." She suggested.

Erza looked at her. Her mouth was opened slightly and get eyebrows were knitted close together. "Eh? That will never work." She replied.

Lucy shrugged her shoulders, "or, you could just say that you need to speak with the King?" She purposed.

Erza glared at her friend, not really agreeing with that idea. Lucy caught her meaning and coughed awkwardly. "Or not." She mumbled.

After a moment of silence, Erza let out a girly squeal and jumped up, knocking Lucy off the bed . "I've got it!" She screamed, running to her cabinet.

Lucy rubbed her sore shoulder, " Was it really necessary to do that?" She questioned, standing up.

Erza turned to face her and held out a small bottle. Lucy looked at it abnormally, "what the hell is that?" She asked, taking hold of it.

"Chloroform." Erza said, taking the bottle out her hand.

Lucy shrieked and jumped in surprised. "What the hell are you doing with chloroform?!" She demanded. "That's dangerous!".

Erza looked at the bottle. "Just in case an assassin decides to 'kidnap' me." She explained. "I could knock them out with chloroform.".

"Chloroform is a bit... Out THERE, isn't it?" Lucy asked, still slightly shocked at the revelation.

"That's how protective my father is." Erza sighed. "I haven't even opened the bottle yet. This just proves how many 'assassins' are really out there. Pathetic, isn't it?".

Lucy nodded slowly, "indeed." She breathed.

Minutes later, Lucy came out her shock and joined the princess. "What's the plan?".

* * *

"What's the matter Jellal?" Gray asked, looking at his blue haired friend sitting beside him.

Natsu looked at Jellal as well. "Yeah. It's really rare for you to ask us for help." He said.

Jellal reached into his pocket and took out the request. "I need you two to help me with this request." He spoke, looking at his two most trusted friends.

Natsu grinned, "Alright! I'm definitely in!" He screamed.

"I'm in. If it's for you Jellal. I'll help." Gray said, pushing a glass of whisky towards Jellal.

Jellal kindly declined it, "I'm fine." He whispered. He unfolded the request and looked at the picture on it.

Natsu began scoffing down the food that Mira just placed on the table. "Who are we assassinating?" He asked, wiping the food from his face.

Jellal looked at the two and handed them the request. Both their eyes widened. Natsu accidentally inhales what he's eating and he started to choke.

Grays jaw dropped to the ground. "That's not possible!" He gasped.

Jellal rubbed his forehead, "I know this job is dangerous... but it's the only chance I have to pay the rent." He explained.

Natsu manage to get rid of the food that blocked his windpipe. He smirked at his friend, "Now I'm more fired up!" He roared.

Gray glared at his naïve friend, "is there a brain in that head of yours?!" He growled. "There is more than one hundred guards guarding that palace! Have you any idea how hard it is to get in a kill the King?!".

Natsu balled his fist, "I don't care! I can take them all on!" He yelled. Everyone in the guild looked at the salmon haired assassin.

Jellal smiled slightly at his friends recklessness. He looked at the request and then to Gray who was shaking his head.

"Jellal. This job is too dangerous." Gray sighed.

Jellal scrunched up the request in his hand and inhaled deeply. "I don't care if it's dangerous. I won't allow Juvia and Wendy to live out on the streets." He said, looking down at the ground. "I promise my father that I will. And I don't intend to break it.".

Natsu sneered at the black haired man. "Let's leave Gray. He's too scared." He mocked.

Gray snarled and bumped his forehead on the pinkettes. "Shut your trap flame brain." He growled.

Natsu grinned, "Little Gray Fullbuster is too afraid to help Jellal. Such a wimp." He laughed.

Gray grit his teeth, "I'm no wimp pinky. I just happen to have a brain." He countered.

"Are you trying to call me dumb?" Natsu barked. "You're just jealous that you're not as amazing as me!".

"I'm millions of times better than you! Your just an idiot!" Gray yelled angrily.

"At least I'm not a mouse!" Natsu screamed back. "Tell me ice princess, are you a man or a mouse?!".

Suddenly Elfman stands on the counter and clenches his fist. "A REAL MAN NEVER GIVES UP!" He yelled.

Natsu smirks at Gray, "Elfman's right. A real man never gives up!" He argued.

"Are you trying to call me a woman?!" Gray asked bitterly.

"Nope. Even women are braver than you!" Natsu teased.

"You're going to pay for saying that Salamander!" Gray threatened.

"Come at me Stripper!" Natsu bellowed. He did a 'come here' gesture which irritated Gray even more.

The two threw a punch at each other at the same time. They saw a flash of blue. The next minute, their fist were caught in mid air by Jellal. He gripped their fist tight. The two winced at the pain.

"Next time you fight. Do it when I'm not within a 2 mile radius from you two." He hissed. "Got that?".

Natsu and Gray nodded, "aye!" They squeak.

Jellal let go of their fist, grabbed the request and turned to the door. He turned to looked at his two friends. Rubbing their sore knuckles. "I'm sorry for bothering you two. Thanks for the drink though." He murmured, heading towards the door.

"Jellal. Wait." Gray said, placing a hand on his broad shoulder. Stopping him. "How much was the reward again?".

"6 million." Jellal said. "If we accomplish the task. I swear, I'll share it out.".

"NOW I'M FIRED UP! MORE THAN EVER BEFORE!" Natsu yelled enthusiastically.

Jellal drew his sword. "I need to get my weapons sharpened." He said, eyeing the shimmering blade.

Gray drew out his Wakizashi. A traditional Japanese sword, with a short, yet razor-sharp blade. The handle made from leather with metal streaks lining the edge of it. "Mine could do with a bit of sharpening as well." He grumble.

"We need some armory. God knows what types of weapons lie within the castle walls." Jellal said, remembering the gun the dealer handed to him.

He went to the exit of the guild. Gray and Natsu followed him. "Where are we going Jellal?" Natsu asked.

Jellal gripped the handle of his sword "Gajeel's blacksmith.".

* * *

"And I thought I was crazy." Gajeel said, sharpening Gray's Wakizashi. He held it up and looked at the blade. "So you guys are going into the Castle and assassinating the King?".

Natsu sat on a stool. "Exciting isn't?" He asked, looking around at the different types of weapons.

"It's dangerous not exciting flame brain." Gray sighed.

While Gray, Natsu and Gajeel were arguing. Jellal walked around the smithy, looking for some bullets. He remembered the dealer's words about the gun. "This device can shoot out these metal pellets called bullets. It can cause serious damage to your victim.".

His victim.

The King.

He thought about the King for a minute. Then his thoughts shifted to his father. Maybe the King knew what happened to him. Ever since he was taken away, by HIS men. Jellal has never seen, nor has he heard from him ever since. With each passing day, he wondered about his father's safety.

"Jellal, you okay back there?" Gajeel asked, snapping him out his trance.

Jellel walked back to his friends, "yeah, I'm good." He said, looking at Natsu's swords sitting on a nearby table.

Natsu lifted his two swords and spun them around his hands, before sliding it back into its sheath on his back. "What else do we need?" He asked.

Gajeel went to the storage room behind the smithy. He returned seconds later with armory. "These will probably fit you three. If it doesn't, I don't have any more sizes." He grumbled.

Jellal plated his abdominal region with armour. "We don't want much armory. It'll be too noisy and the guards will easily spot us." Jellal explained.

Natsu and Gray nodded and left to go and get ready. Jellal looked out the window. The sun was starting to sink below the horizon. The sky was filled with an array of scarlet, orange and yellow. The sun's rays were glimmering behind the darkness of the clouds. Night was approaching fast.

It was now only a matter of time before their encounter.

* * *

Erza poked her head out her room. She saw Lucy standing against the wall, with a tissue coated in chloroform. Erza nodded at her and looked at the guards that stood out her room. She grinned mischievously and took out the bottle of chloroform. "Poor poor guards. Now you deal with us." She whispered.

Erza didn't realise that soon, she will regret all the things she's done.

* * *

Three horses galloped through the darkness of the forest. The moon drowsed between the trees like a great yellow moth, illuminating a path for the three assassin. The Castle could be seen standing proudly in the distance. Natsu and Gray pulled up their hoods, hiding their faces from their enemy.

Jellal slid the ropes on his shoulders up his arm and reached into the sack on Shadow's side. The black steed galloped faster into the night. He placed the mask over his face and covered the rest of his countenance with his silver forehead protector and bandana.

He gripped Shadow's reins hard. His bronze eyes locked on to the window of the King's studies. " My King… your soul is flight. If it finds heaven, must find it out tonight.".

* * *

**Well there we have it folks. The next Chapter! We can all guess what happens next. Can we?**

**The last quote is from one of my favorite plays **'Macbeth' **written by William Shakespeare.**

**So, Until next time!**


	6. Chapter 6

**I think i'm gonna shoot myself in the forehead. I totally forgot about my sixth form interview i have tomorrow. Whoops. I have to admit, i'm pretty scared about it, since i HATE interviews.**

**Wolfspirit44: I LOVE Macbeth! I've written an essay about it and read the play like a million times. So i basically know the whole play by heart now!**

**I now present thee with the next chapter!**

**Chapter 6: revenge**

* * *

The three assassins stopped directly outside the back of the Castle. Jellal looked at the towers the King's studies reside in. He then turned to his friends. "Don't forget the plan. We stick to it so." He whispered.

Natsu and Gray nodded. "I'm all fired up." Natsu answered.

"What happens if they catch us?" Gray asked.

Jellal looked at the guards guarding the back entrance. "Head back to the guild. Don't bother waiting for me." He said.

Gray wasn't sure whether to accept it. But when he saw the burning aspiration in his eyes, he knew Jellal would stop at no cost to get his hands on 6 million Jewls. "Okay." He agreed.

Jellal tugged at Shadow's reins, "I'll see you in a bit." He said. "Good luck.".

Gray nodded and kicked his horse's side gently. "You too." He said.

Natsu smirked and followed Gray. Jellal turned to face his friends, "oh and Gray." Jellal called.

Gray turned around, "yeah?" He asked.

"Please. No stripping." Jellal pleaded, turning into the darkness of the trees and disappearing.

Natsu started to laugh, "he's got a point you know." He giggled.

Gray rolled his eyes "shut up flame brain." He growled.

* * *

Jellal got off Shadow and hid behind a tree. "Shadow, come for me when I call you." He spoke softly.

The black steed bobbed his head up and down and departed into the forest.

Jellal poked his head out the tree and looked around. "Strange. There's only one guard." He whispered to himself.

He reached into his boot and pulled out a dagger. He waited for the guard to face the Castle and Jellal snuck up behind him. He grabbed the guard and dragged the blade of the dagger across his throat. The guard stopped struggling and slackened.

Jellal dragged the guard's dead body behind the trees, hiding it from sight.

* * *

Natsu and Gray easily enters the Castle. However, they were shocked to see what had happened inside. All the guards were lying on the ground. Unconscious.

"What the heck happened here?" Natsu asked, gripping the swords that were in his hands.

Gray knelt and placed his index and middle finger on the guard's pulse. "His heart is still beating. They're unconscious." He mumbled, standing up and looking at his salmon haired friend.

"Do you think someone was here before us?" Natsu asked.

Gray shook his head, "no. These guards aren't dead. If it was another person. Wouldn't they kill the guards instead of leaving them alive?" He questioned.

Natsu looked down the hallway, "Let's go that way." He said.

Gray nodded and took a step forward. He heard the crunching of glass from under his foot and looked down. He picked up the piece of glass and looked at it.

"What the hell is that?" Natsu asked, looking at the glass Gray just picked up.

Gray turned the glass and read the label on it "Chloroform.".

* * *

Erza looked down the empty hallway. She smirked and head down to the King's studies. Despite living in the Castle all her life. Erza still got lost. To her father, the Castle is home. But to Erza, the Castle is a Labyrinth.

She spends most of her time locked up in her room. Unsure about the world around her. Not even her own home. Each hallway looked the same to her.

Doors.

Carpet.

Stairs.

Erza sighed in frustration. "Where the hell is it?" She mumbled under her breath, turning a corner. She saw a door that she hasn't encountered yet, making her eyes glisten with excitement.

She ran over to the door and looked at the label on the door. 'Erza's room'. Erza's eye started to twitch. She clenched teeth, trying to suppress a scream. "I just went around in a circle!".

* * *

Jellal carried on climbing up the tower. He placed each hand on the rocks and pulled himself up. He dug his feet into the fissures on the Tower and repeated his movements. The rocks felt sharp under his hands, tearing away at his skin. But he doesn't feel any pain.

Nothing.

His heart pounded hard in his chest. Pumping adrenalin around his body. With every step, Jellal feels himself getting closer to his prey. Determined to do anything to help his sisters. Even if it does mean putting his life on the balance.

Suddenly, there was a horrible sound of scrambling hands and Jellal found himself holding on with one hand, hanging for dear life. His breathing gotten heavier as his eyes focused on ground, which was a blur because of how high he was.

'Focus Jellal.' He scolded himself

He took a deep breath and swung himself up. Grabbing hold of the wall, he climbed and climbed. The rocks crackling beneath his hands and feet. Minutes later, Jellal turned and looked down at the 100ft drop. His heart suddenly felt like it was going to jump out his chest.

He closed his eyes and concentrated on the objective. He mounted himself on the rocks and looked up. He was nearing the window. Only a couple of meters left.

He grasped the window ledge and hurled himself up. Removing the dagger from his mouth, he found that the window was still opened. Jellal narrowed his eyes.

It's like they're begging him to kill the King.

He climbed into the room slowly and looked around. He was confused to find that it was empty. 'Why the hell would they leave the damn window open?' He thought to himself, walking over to the window. He took out the rope, tied it onto something, before throwing the other half down the tower.

All of a sudden, someone jumped out from nowhere and wrapped an arm around his throat. Jellal gasped as his grip became tighter and tighter. He grunted loudly and slammed his elbow in to the person's stomach. Making him let go of him. Jellal turned around quickly to face his opponent. "Makarov." Jellal breathed.

* * *

Natsu and Gray searched the castle for any guards. Not finding a single one. Natsu pouted, "this is boring... I thought infiltrating the castle will be fun! But it's not!" He screamed.

"Pipe down you idiot! Someone will hear you!" Gray barked.

"THERE'S NO ONE HERE!" Natsu yelled impatiently.

"Look! Over there! Intruders!" Someone cried.

Gray sighed in annoyance, "great… now you did it." He huffed.

Natsu drew his two swords from his back, "now I'm fire up!" He smirked.

Gray drew his Wakizashi and dashed towards the guards. He swung his blade upwards, drawing blood from his opponents. He turned around and slammed his fist into another's gut. Grabbing hold of him and tossing him on another guard.

Natsu fought by his side. Using his two blades to fend against the bombardment of attacks. He roared and launched himself at them. Connecting his blade with theirs and using the other to slice their throat. He looked at the reflection of his sword, seeing a guard about to attack him from behind.

Natsu turned around quickly and launched himself forward, slamming his elbow in his enemy's gut. The man choked, and flew backwards, but Natsu wasn't done. He shot forward, hooking his left leg around the man's right one, and knocked the man off his feet. With one last roar, Natsu drove both blades into his chest. Crossing over his heart.

He yanked the blades out and faced the other guards. Natsu and Gray smirked as the guards began closing in on them.

* * *

The King threw up his forearms, but Jellal slipped to the side, slammed the man's elbow down, caught his head, and rolled him into the floor. Makarov went to kick him, but Jellal dodge the attack with ease. He watched the masked man rush toward him in slow motion. A sliver glint on his knuckles.

Jellal roared and threw a punched towards his face. But the King ducked and slammed his fist into Jellal's gut. Not knowing he was covered in armour, the King retreated his hand and winced at the pain. "Who the hell are you?!" The King demanded.

Jellal drew out his sword. "That's something for you to find out." He growled, sprinting towards him.

Makarov sheath his sword and their blades connecting. Jellal pushed the King's sword away and slashed his left arm. The King hissed in pain and attempted to cut him. But Jellal dodged it and kicked him in the gut. Sending him back.

* * *

Erza finally reached her father's studies. She took in a deep breath and knocked on the door. "Father? It's me. Erza." She called.

No answer.

"Dad are you in there?" Erza asked. She heard her father's groans of pain. "Father?!".

Erza started to bang on the door. "Dad! Open the door!" She cried. Suddenly she felt someone slam into the door, sending Erza back.

"You're getting slow old man." A voice sneered from the other side of the door.

Erza stared at the door in shock. "That voice." She whispered. The memory of her encounter with that mysterious person suddenly flew into her mind. "Mystogun?".

* * *

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO MY FATHER?!" Jellal screamed, striking the King's torso with his knuckle duster.

Makarov crashed into the wall and cried out in pain. "What do you mean?! I don't know your father!" He yelled.

Jellal gripped the handle of his sword so tight, his knuckles turned white. "I didn't come all the way up here to listen to your bullshit." He snarled. "My father was General Siegrain Fernandes.".

Makarov's eyes widened in shock. "You're the son of Siegrain?" He asked, looking into Jellal's eyes which were burning with anger and hatred.

"You took him away twelve years ago. When I was only nine years of age." Jellal hissed. "What the hell did you do to him?".

The King looked at the man before him. He had the same eyes as Siegrain. Same posture. Even the same voice. But, just by looking at the darkness that clouded his mind. He could tell the masked man looked like he has killed countless people. Something Siegrain would never do. "He's been dead for the past eleven years." Makarov murmured.

Jellal's face suddenly slackened. His mouth was slightly open, body frozen, and colour draining from his face as he stared wide-eyed at the King. He dropped the sword in his hand and the blade clang as it hit the ground. The room fell silent, all that could be heard was Jellal's heavy breathing.

Jellal blinked. Fury, despair and rage entered his eyes. "What did he do to deserve such a fate?!" He bellowed.

The King grasp his side and stood up. "Your father committed treason! Regicide!" He countered. "He was the one that assassinated the Queen!".

Jellal clenched his fists and he crouched forward, daring the King to repeat once more the words that had torn his heart into many pieces. "You bastard. My father wouldn't do something like that." He taunted.

"Just face reality kid." The King retorted. "When my men find you... you'll be reunited with your father.".

"FATHER! FATHER!" A voice screamed from behind the door.

Jellal turned around and looked at it. "Who's that?" He mumbled.

The King clutched his broken rib "Erza! Erza go and g-" but he was cut off when Jellal grabbed his throat and smashed him back on the wall. The King saw a murderous look in his eyes and shivered.

The King fought back instinctively terrified about what was going to happen. His nails dug into Jellal's skin but his grip was inhumane. The King gave a scream of agony and kicked Jellal back. Jellal absorbed the trauma, swallowing the pain, then made his way slowly back to his feet. The King grabbed Jellal's sword which was on the ground and pointed it towards Jellal's throat.

The King could hear Erza trying to force the door open and twisted his head towards her direction. "Erza. No matter how hard you try. You won't be able to open it." He said, turning back to Jellal who was standing there. Looking defeated. "Give up?".

* * *

Gray and Natsu were still downstairs, trying to distract the guards from the King's studies. "There's too much!" Gray screamed, driving his Wakizashi into the guard's stomach.

Natsu sliced his way through the crowd of guards. "I'M NOT LETTING THESE GUARDS GET THE BETTER OF ME!" He yelled triumphantly.

There was a gunshot. A bullet made its way to Gray. Natsu instantly senses it and slices it in half with his sword. Hitting the two men behind Gray. "You owe me one Gray!" Natsu smirked.

"I didn't ask you to save my life!" Gray snarled.

A man with Brown hair and Black eyes pointed the gun towards Natsu. It was Simon. "Say goodbye." He hissed.

Gray grabbed his wrist with his left hand and held his gun hand against his chest, the gun caught under the armour and he punched Simon twice, right in the face. He sagged and Gray shoved him away. "Why don't you say goodbye?" He sneered, turning to Natsu.

Natsu's eyes were wide and his mouth was opened. "Gray." He breathed.

Gray raised an eyebrow. "What?" He asked. His eyes averted and he looked down at himself. "Shit!" He screamed, looking at himself only in a pair of boxers.

The guards pointed to the mark on Gray's right pectoral, "that stamp. They're from the fairy tail guild!" They cried

Now they were in trouble.

* * *

Jellal chuckled. "Give up?" He asked, looking up at the King. "'Giving up' is not in my dictionary. I didn't come all the way here, risk my life to walk out with nothing.".

It's funny what the thought of revenge could do to a person. One minute Jellal was reluctant about the idea of killing the King of Fiore. Now, he's standing in front of him. Wanting to do anything at his power to get rid of him.

The King saw such a venomous look in his eyes, it made him drop Jellal's sword. He started to back away from the assassin. "Please. Don't kill me. I've got a daughter." He begged.

The banging on the door got louder as each second past by. Erza's voice could be heard from the other side, demanding for entry. But Jellal didn't care. He wanted revenge. Revenge for the man who sentenced his innocent father to death. Revenge for making his life a living hell.

Revenge for endangering his sisters.

Jellal reached into his back and pulled out the gun. The King watched in fear as Jellal pulled out a magazine from his pocket and slid it into the guns. He placed his non-firing hand on the top of the gun and pulled back. He let go and the slide snapped forward. Jellal lifted his arm slowly and aimed the gun between the King's eyes.

Jellal could feel his finger twitch at the trigger. His palms became sweaty and his body started to tremble. The King notice Jellal broke eye contact with him. Jellal feel his hand shaking uncontrollably and his vision started to become blurry. Despite his subconscious mind wanting to pull trigger, Jellal fought the urge to do so.

Do it Jellal. He's the reason for your Father's death.

Do it! You'll get your revenge!

Your father will be proud.

But will he?

Jellal started to lower the gun. Unable to pull the trigger. "I-" he whispered.

Suddenly the door flew open and Erza stormed in, "GET AWAY FROM MY FATHER!" She shrieked.

She jumped on Jellal's back and attempted to tackle him on the ground. But Jellal began trying to toss her off of him. He growled loudly and threw her across the floor.

But he didn't realise that his grip around the gun tightened. His index finger pulled back on the trigger.

Then there was the gunshot.

* * *

**Well. Nothing much to say to be honest.**

**I've change the story to an M rating because i want to TRY writing a lemon. I mean, you wouldn't know unless you try.**

**Right?**

**The next chapter will hopefully be up earlier, since it's the Christmas Holidays. YAAAY.**


	7. Chapter 7

**PHEW! House work sure is difficult. At least that's out of my way now.**

**I want to thank you all for following, favoriting and reviewing!**

**I give you all the next chapter **

**Chapter 7: The fall of Fairy Tail**

* * *

Natsu and Gray ran out the Castle. They mounted themselves onto their horses and galloped into the forest.

"Wait!" Natsu screamed. "What about Jellal? He's still in the Castle!"

Gray looked at him and then to the Castle. "He said to get out of here if anything goes wrong. We have no choice but to leave!" He yelled back.

"But Fairy Tail never leaves their comrades behind!" Natsu rejected.

Gray grit his teeth, regretting the words he was just about to say. "We have no choice!"

Suddenly, a loud gunshot echoed through the forest. Natsu and Gray looked at each other. "Jellal" flew from both of their lips and they both mouthed at the same time.

* * *

Erza watched in shock as the King stumbled back slightly. He placed his hand above his chest and blood started to erupt from it. He fell back and crimson liquids started to pool the area around him.

Her shocked expression slowly changed and her face changed in an all-devouring anger: nostrils flaring; eyes flashing; mouth trembling, slurring words that were unintelligible, escalating into space like a volcano releasing its emotions into the darkness.

"YOU MONSTER!" Erza barked, launching herself at the masked man with a dagger gripped tightly in her hand.

She swung the dagger towards his face, but Jellal ducked and grabbed her arm. He slammed her against the wall and bashed her hands on the wall, making Erza release the dagger. She growled angrily, tears streaming down her face, and kicked the spot between his legs.

Jellal howled in pain and clutched his stomach, feeling the pain rise to his abdomen. He groaned loudly, starting to feel slightly nauseous and looked up at the princess. He saw something sliver fly towards him and slid to the left slightly. The dagger just about missed him.

Erza jumped on him, attempting to suffocate him. Jellal began thrashing around, trying to toss her off of him. He grabbed the clothing on her back and flung her off.

She landed hard on the ground, realizing that she pulled out his mask, bandana and silver forehead protector. She look up at him, bewildered to see such a handsome face. The night time breeze ruffled his shaggy blue hair. He slowly opened his bronze eyes and met Erza's senile brown ones. "You..." she whispered.

She didn't expect this man to have such a soft expression and he was the same age as herself, slightly older. She expected him to be older and psychotic. Someone full of bloodlust. But that wasn't the case. His face was as pale as the moonlight, and a large red tattoo covered the right side of his face.

The two stared at each other for a split second before the alarm bells sounded. His heart started to beat faster as the rushing of guards came from the hallway. "THEY'RE THE FAIRY TAIL MEMBERS! WE MUST WARN THE KING!"

Erza raced over to the King and held him in her arms. "Father!" She cried.

Jellal walked back slightly, "I… I didn't..." he stuttered, reaching the window ledge. He saw the guards reaching the top of the stairs and gulped. He looked down the tower and whistled loudly. Shadow appeared, galloping through the forest, reaching the bottom of the tower and whinnying loudly. Jellal gripped the ropes and hurled himself over the edged.

Jellap gripped the ropes tight, slowing his fall. He landed on the steed, who shifted to his weight impatiently. "HYA!" Jellal cried. Shadow took off into the night.

Jellal needed to get back to Fairy Tail quick and warn them about the upcoming danger. He knew that the King's men would find them and no one would be safe anymore.

What had he done?

* * *

Erza looked down at her dying father. "Dad! Please! Don't leave me!" She begged.

All the King could do was respond with a quiet groan. Guards and soldiers began swarming the room.

"King Makarov!" Simon cried, rushing over to Erza's side.

Lucy stood, frozen in absolute shock, unable to move. She wasn't expecting this to happen. She had only wanted Erza to talk to the King.

"Lucy! I want you and the nurses to take the King to Polyusica. NOW!" Simon commanded.

Erza watched as the nurses disappeared with the King. She felt warm liquid coat her hand and looked at them. They were coated in blood.

His blood.

Memories threatened to surface as she looked at her hands, covered in the King's blood. Memories she tried to forget, what happened almost twelve years ago. How her mother was assassinated right in front of her and then the same thing happened to her father. As much as she tried to push those thoughts away, she just couldn't.

Tears steamed down her face, remembering how the bullet pierced her father's chest. How she was unable to do anything about it, much like what happened to her mother.

"Father." She murmured, her hands trembling, unable to contain the thought of having both her parent's blood on her hand.

Simon and Cobra knelt down beside her. "Come on princess. Let's take you to the infirmary," Simon whispered, wiping the tears from her face.

"His name was Mystogun." Erza said quickly.

Cobra looked at her, "I beg your pardon?" He asked.

"That man, his name was Mystogun." Erza said, still traumatized by what just happened.

One of the guards joined the three. "I saw a guild mark on one of the culprits. It was the Fairy Tail mark," He explained.

Simon grit his teeth. "In that case," he mumbled, looking at Cobra, "Get your best men. We'll go their guild and teach them a lesson."

Erza stood up. "Let me come with you," She pleaded.

Simon shook his head. "No. I can't let you. You've just been through a hell of an event," He said.

Erza sighed in defeat. "I can't believe I just let them do that to dad... It's all my fault," She sobbed.

"Don't blame yourself Erza. Nobody was expecting this," Simon whispered.  
Cobra turned to the door. "We're heading to the guild now General Simon," He said.

Simon followed him. "Let's go." He mumbled.

"Wait," Erza said, "What are you going to do?"

Simon looked at Cobra and nodded "We're going to burn down their guild and punish them for they did to our King."

* * *

Jellal raced back to the guild. A million thoughts were running through his mind. Everything's gone wrong. This wasn't suppose to happen. Why didn't the plan work? What's going to happen now?

Jellal urged Shadow to go faster. Not only was that the problem. The Princess saw and now knows his face.  
He could see the guild coming closer to him. He jumped off Shadow and raced into the guild.

Everyone looked at him, Natsu and Gray looked relieved to see their best friend safe.

The entire guild starred to bicker amongst each other as Jellal looked around desperately for Laxus. Gray and Natsu joined the blue haired man.

"Jellal, What's going on?" They asked in unison.

Jellal grabbed Gray's shoulders. "They know it's us. They're after us now. We need everyone to get to Crocus." He explained.

Gray raised a brow. "But Crocus isn't in the Kingdom of Fiore." Gray reminded.

"I know. That means the King's men won't be able to do anything to us. It's not their land." Jellal said.

"How do you know Crocus is a safe place?" Gray asked.

"It was the town me, Wendy and Juvia stayed at before we headed to Magnolia." Jellal said. "I know the fastest route to Crocus and there's a pub there. We could hide out until the heat dies down."

Natsu turned to the guild. "EVERYONE LISTEN! THE KING'S MEN ARE ON THEIR WAY HERE! IF WE DON'T RUN NOW, WE'LL BE TOAST!" He roared.

The entire guild was filled with cries of panic infused terror. Everyone rushed out and made their ways to the stables. "Levy." Jellal called from the crowd of people.

A young girl with blue hair and green eyes stood out from the crowd. "What's wrong Jellal?" She asked.

"Get Gajeel and tell him to meet us at the beacon in the forest in an hour," Jellal said. "And have you seen Wendy?" He asked quickly.

Levy shook her head. "Nope. Haven't seen her all night." She answered, disappearing into the crowd of rushing people.

Juvia walked up to Jellal. "Is it true?" She asked, hoping her brother would say otherwise.

"I'm afraid so," Jellal whispered, unable to meet his sister's gaze.

Juvia shook her head and looked at her elder brother in disgust. Gray gently grabbed her hand and guided her out the guild. "Come on Juvia. Let's go," He whispered.

Jellal watched as each guild members left. One by one they disappeared. Once there was no one left, Jellal gave one last look at the hall and turned away.

"Big brother?" A voice asked.

Jellal froze and turned around. "Wendy! What are you still doing here?" He asked.

Wendy looked down at her feet. "I wanted to go with you big brother... I feel safer with you," She whispered.

Jellal felt remorseful. He just tried to assassinate the King. He put everyone in the guild in peril. Juvia hated him. But Wendy. Innocent, sweet Wendy. She was always able to get to Jellal's kind side. His softer side.

The screaming of men could be heard from the distance. Jellal picked up Wendy and rushed out the guild hall. He placed her on Shadow and then mounted the steed himself, so Wendy was sitting behind him. He softly kicked Shadow's side. "Let's go." He grumbled.

Shadow galloped into the edge of the forest. Jellal turned his head to looked at the King's men throwing torches on the guild, setting it alight. His eyes glued on to the blackness of the sky, hazed with the smoke from the burning building.

"Big brother, I'm scared," Wendy murmured.

"There's nothing to be afraid of," Jellal choked, trying to hold in his tears.

Truth was, Jellal was afraid himself. But he didn't want to show his little sister that he was scared. He needed to set an example and be a big brother for once. In the end, it was no use. The guild hall was burning down and the flames grew larger and larger. All he could do was watch helplessly as the guild disintegrated.

And it was all his fault.

"Where are we going now brother?" Wendy asked.

Jellal tugged at Shadow's reins, and he raced into the forest, catching up to the other guild members. "Home."

* * *

-days later-

The journey to Crocus was a long and tiresome one. The guild didn't speak to Jellal about what had happened with the King. Instead, they tried to take his mind off the previous event that took place. Once the Fairy Tail guild members reached Crocus, Jellal showed everyone the pub that would become Fairy Tail's new headquarters. He then took Wendy and Juvia back to their old apartment they inhabited after their father was taken away.

Jellal looked around their small apartment. The floors were made of wood arranged in zig-zag patterns. A large stone wall separated the small living room into their bedrooms. Although the apartment was little, neither luxurious or large, It was a place Jellal and his two little sisters could call home.

"Well... We're home." Jellal said.

Juvia glared at him. "This is all your fault Jellal!" She screamed.

"I'm sorry! I… I didn't know this would happen," Jellal whispered.

"That's your excuse for everything! You said that 'this will be your final job', but instead you go and assassinate the King!" Juvia cried.

All Jellal could do was sit and listen to her scream at him. He couldn't do anything since everything she was saying was true. Now Jellal had to cope with the guilt of attempting to kill the King and endangering the lives of his two sisters, as well as all his friends at the guild.

He felt so ashamed.

"Have you any ideas what could have happened to you if you got caught?" She asked. "You could've been killed or worse!"

"I just want to protect you," Jellal mumbled.

"You're doing one hell of a job protecting us aren't you?!" Juvia growled sarcastically.

Jellal stood up abruptly. "Look. I'm doing what dad-" he started.

"Don't you dare say that name in front of Wendy!" Juvia huffed, "You'll never be him. In fact, you're more than a gazillion miles from being like him!"

Mortified, Jellal bowed his head. He felt as though he disgraced his father's legacy as the general and captain of the royal army of Fiore. Jellal stood, frozen in the spot. He felt as though everyone in the world was staring at him like he was an outlaw.

A criminal.

* * *

Erza stood up quickly as Polyusica walked out the King's Chambers. "Can we see him now?" She asked.

Polyusica looked from Erza to Lucy to Simon. "Fine. But be quiet." She hissed.

Erza was first to enter the room, desperate to see her father. She felt a pang of guilt as she approached the King's bed. He was covered in bruises, cuts and heavy bandaging. His face was pale and unmoving.

"He's taken quite a beating you know," Polyusica uttered.

Lucy joined the Princess. "How bad was the beating, Polyusica?" She asked.

"Hm… he's got several broken ribs, as well a bruises and cuts all over his body." Polyusica said, watching as Erza, Lucy and Simon sat down.

Erza looked at the bandages on his upper body. She shuddered as she remembered how the bullet penetrated his chest. "What about the bullet?" She asked.

Polyusica sighed. "The bullet…" she whispered. "It's lodged in his pericardium."

Lucy raised a brow. "What's that?" She asked.

"It's like an armour for the heart. It protects the heart from diseases," Polyusica explained. "If the bullet falls out before it's healed, then the King could die from tremendous blood loss. We must wait until the pericardium is 100% healed. Until then, the King won't wake from his coma."

Erza sat in silence, trying to soak up what was going on. She couldn't help but blame herself for what happened to her father. It was her fault the guards were knocked out in the first place. Her fault the Castle was made vulnerable.

Her fault she made HIM pull the trigger.

"I've heard what happened. I came here straight away," A voice called.

Erza turned around quickly to see a person with white hair, a green eye and an eyepatch across his right eye. He wore elegant silk robes and a small crown upon his head. "Uncle Hades." Erza murmured.

Simon bowed, "Prince Hades." He greeted.

Hades stood by Makarov's side. He closed his eyes and shook his head. "What cruel person did this to such a great ruler?" He asked sadly.

Erza sniffed, unable to contain her tears. She thought that in the last few days, she finally cried out all her tears. But now, sitting by her father's side, looking at him fighting for his life, Erza could only feel sadness and emptiness in her heart. "It's all my fault." She weeped.

Hades' gaze softened. "Don't blame yourself Erza. It's nobody's fault." He said reassuringly.

Lucy patted her shoulder. "He's right Erza. You can't go around blaming yourself." She said.

"But it was my idea to knock out the guards in the first place." Erza admitted.

Hades sat by his niece's side. "But was it you who pulled the trigger?" He asked.

Erza shook her head. "No... but I-" she started.

"No Erza. You're not the person to blame," Hades finished.

Erza's life was now crumbling. Her father was dying. His killer got away with it. Her freedom was becoming less obtainable. Her life was now completely screwed.

Suddenly, Cobra walked into the chambers. He bowed his head respectively. "I know where the Fairies have disappeared to," He said.

Simon shot to his feet. "Let's find them. They're gonna pay for what they did!" He growled.

"SHHH!" Polyusica hushed.

Erza shot to her feet as well. "I want to go too," She demanded.

Simon looked at her. "Erza, you can't g-"

"Let her go." Hades said, interrupting Simon.

Erza balled her fist. "I'm not gonna let this bastard get away with this," She snarled.

"Erza, are you sure about this?" Lucy asked, worried.

"I want to be the one to drive my sword through his heart," Erza stated.

Simon nodded. "In that case. We'll set out tomorrow morning." He said, turning to Cobra. "Where are they anyway?"

"They're at Crocus," Cobra said quickly.

Erza looked down at Makarov. "Don't worry father. I will find and kill this person who did this to you," She whispered, thinking about the blue haired assassin.

Your demise is an assurance

* * *

**Well, let's just say that anyone who gets in Erza's nerves is as good as dead...**

**Until next time then people!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello again everyone! I wanna wish you all a (really) late Merry Christmas, I hope you all got lots of presents! I can't believe it's almost the end of 2014 and nearly the beginning of 2015. Time does fly -.-**

**Well, here's the next chapter!**

**Chapter 8: Seeking revenge?**

* * *

A loud noise and a few muffled curses woke Wendy up. She sat up quickly and turned to Juvia, who was still fast asleep. Wendy looked at her quizzically, 'how did that not wake her up?' she thought to herself. She snuck out of bed and headed to the living room, where she saw a silhouette tip-toeing to the door, "big brother?" She whispered.

Startled, Jellal turned around swiftly. Only to see Wendy standing by the door frame. "Oh. Wendy. I wasn't expecting you to be up so early." He said, watching Wendy walk towards him.

"Where are you going?" She asked.

Jellal took out a crumpled piece of paper, "I'm off to do a job." He replied.

"But you said you won't go for any more jobs. We don't need to pay the rent. This is our house." Wendy reminded.

Jellal ran his fingers through his thick blue locks, "I know. But, who's going to get the food money?" He asked.

Wendy bowed her head in defeat and didn't reply.

Jellal sighed and turned to grab the door handle, "i'll see you later then." he murmured.

"I'm just tired of being alone." Wendy admitted.

Jellal froze. "What?" He asked, completely stupefied. He turned to look at her, "what did you say?"

Wendy's lips began to tremble, "I don't think Juvia lives me." She whispered. "she's always with Gray and she never spends time with me."

Jellal looked at Wendy's pale face. Tears dripped from her face and landed silently on the ground. He slowly walked up to her and knelt. "Why didn't you tell me?" He asked.

Wendy looked up at him, her cheeks stained with un-shed tears. "I didn't want you and Juvia to fight again," She mumbled, "she's wrong because you ARE like dad. He's kind. Loving. Protective. Just like you."

Jellal smiled, happy to receive such a nice complement. "A big brother couldn't ask for anything more from his little sister." He mumbled, standing up. "I promise you that this will be my last job.".

"But you said that last time." Wendy sighed.

"I give you my word," Jellal said, holding out his hand. "I've broken many promises in my life. But this won't be one of them."

Wendy frowned and shook his hand. "Okay..." she said.

Jellal stood up straight and opened the door. He looked at Wendy one last time, before leaving. Wendy stood, watching the figure of his brother grow fainter and fainter. "Please Jellal," She whispered, "Come back quick.".

* * *

Lucy stood on the balcony, watching the horses melt into the forest. "Erza..." she whispered, remembering the first time she came across the Princess. A tear slipped down her face as she recalled Erza saving her from her corrupted childhood.

_Lucy peeped her head out the wall to get an eyeful of her favourite snack, father always buys her in the morning. Ever since he passed away, Lucy relied on her ability to steal things without anyone noticing._

_She looked down at herself. A Street rat. Ragged, dirty clothing. Her pale skin and bright blonde hair covered in filth and god knows what else. Torn fingerless gloves. Worn out sandals. This was the childhood of Lucy Heartfilia._

_She made her way to the stall, like a predator stalking its prey. Her eyes fixed on the sticky syrup dripping off the golden pastry. The very thought of it made her drool. Her stomach began gurgling, calling out to the pastry just sitting there. Waiting for her to reach out and take it._

_The stabbing sensation in her stomach was just getting to much for the young blonde. As much as she tried to ignore it, the pain was becoming uncontrollable. She winced and carried on making her way to the delicious pastry calling out to her. Her throat became dry and the pain in her stomach turned into a weird nauseous feeling._

_Closing in on the pastry, she reached out her hand. Getting ready to take it and go. Suddenly, a strong hand grabbed her wrist firmly "What the hell do you think you're doing?!" The shopkeeper asked angrily._

_Lucy tried to wiggle out her grip. "Please Sir! I was just looking…" she squeaked, attempting to pull herself out his grasp._

_The man tightened his grip, making her cry out in pain._

_"You think you could attempt to steal my stuff without punishment?" He growled._

_"I wasn't stealing!" Lucy sobbed._

_"She wasn't stealing Sir." A voice said._

_Lucy turned around to see a girl with vibrant scarlet hair. She was a few years older than Lucy. She wore a chest plate, blue skirt and black boots. "She wasn't stealing. I was buying one for her." She said, pulling out some money._

_"Forgive me Princess Erza." The shopkeeper apologised, bowing his head and handing the bag with the pastry inside it to Erza._

_Erza nodded and gently took Lucy's hand. "C'mon." She whispered._

_They came across a bench where the two sat and Lucy began to devour the pastry. Erza smiled at the young blonde, "What's your name?" She asked._

_"Lucy. Lucy Heartlfilia." Lucy answered, swallowing the food in her mouth. "I'm sorry. I'm supposed to show my respect to you."._

_"Don't worry about it Lucy. You were hungry and I can't blame you for it." Erza replied. "So Lucy. Why were you stealing?"._

_Lucy looked at her hands, covered in syrup. "I don't have any money your highness... I can't afford to buy anything." She said sadly._

_Erza frowned for a minute and then an idea flew into her mind. "I've got an idea! You can come and live in the Castle with me!" Erza suggested._

_"What?" Lucy asked, very confused._

_"There's loads of spare rooms in the Castle! I'm sure father won't mind if you want to stay in one." Erza said happily. "I promise you that if you come and live in the Castle with me. You won't have to steal ever again."._

_For the first time in ages, Lucy smiled. "Really?" She asked, tears of relief streaming down her face._

_"Yup!" Erza said, holding out her hand. "Now, let's get you another one of those pastries. You must be hungry!"._

Lucy smiled at the memory. The memory she'll always cherish and never forget. Meeting her first and best friend. That smile disappeared when she remembered the danger Erza's putting herself in. There's so many scary people out in the world. Life could throw un-expecting things at Erza. All Lucy could do was hope for the best.

* * *

When Erza, Simon, Cobra and a fraction of the royal army reached the summit of the hills, the sun was already starting to sink below the horizon and the long slopes beneath them were all golden green. Over the vast expense, there was no sign of movement, all was still as life itself. An Eagle soared high into the azure heaven. It seemed like the only living thing between the immense dome of the sky and the land beneath.

Erza looked at the sun, sinking low and making the sky blaze with scarlet and gold. "This place is beautiful." Erza whispered. Never has she seen such a magnificent sight in her life. However, it made her feel vulnerable. This just proves how much she knows about the world. She felt slightly angry at the fact that she wasted nearly all her life locked up in her room. Knowing nothing about the hidden mysteries the world has installed for her.

"We're gonna make a stop here and travel the rest tomorrow." Simon said, jumping off his horse. The other men followed his orders and did the same.

"why can't we just go on. It's only another few hour walk." Erza suggested.

Cobra massaged his forehead. "Erza. We're all tired of travelling all day. Don't you think the horses deserve some rest too?" He asked.

Erza looked down at her horse, "sorry about that Axe." She whispered. The steed shifted uncomfortably, obviously exhausted from the journey.

She slid off Axe and guided him to the grassy plains. The rest followed and made camp there. Erza was intrigued at the nature around her. Every now and then she would hear the howl of a distant wolf, snapping of twigs and scratching of tree bark. She would see a pair of beady eyes surface in a nearby pool which lay amid the plains.

She felt like a bird, spreading her wings for the first time. Flying the never ending sky.

"Princess Erza." Simon called, breaking her from her mini day dream.

"Hmm?" Erza answered, falling back on the soft grass. Closing her eyes, she took in a breath of fresh air.

"We will find him you know." Simon said, sitting opposite her.

Erza blinked. She was so fascinated by the world around her, she forgot the actual reason she was here in the first place. "Yeah. We will." Erza mumbled.

She heard Simon shifting slightly, "well, I'm going to sleep now. Big day tomorrow." Simon yawned.

Erza sighed. Did she really wanted to kill him? Somehow, her mind was set to eliminate this person. But her heart was refusing to do it. She gazed up at the dark sky. A question written in the stars somewhere.

Is revenge always the answer?

* * *

Jellal threw himself over the window ledge and landed softly on the wooden floor. He looked at the person sleeping soundly on the couch and took out the request. He looked from the person to the photo. It was a guy named Zancrow.

His head turned to the door, where he heard soft mumbling. He then looked down at Zancrow and searched for his daggers. "Crap…" he cursed. Remembering that he left most of his weapons back at home. Including his sword. All he had was his gun. But he couldn't use it. It'll be too loud and everyone will hear it. Compromising the objective.

Suddenly, he remembered Laxus telling him about the blood vessels in a person's neck. He reached out and positioned his thumbs on the bumps at the base of his skull. Jellal found the muscle he was searching for and slowly, he wrapped his fingers around the side of his neck and began to press.

He mentally counted to two minutes. He felt Zancrow shudder, stopped breathing and then diminished. Jellal removed his fingers from Zancrow's neck and stood up. He headed back to the window and looked back at Zancrow's dead body. He recalled watching the Princess hold her dying father in her arms.

He shook those thoughts away and jumped out the window. Landing on the ground below. He walked briskly into the forest, teaming with biodiversity. Shadow, sensing Jellal's approach, stopped eating and looked up at him. He nickered a greeting and carried on eating.

Jellal still carried the guilt of attempting to murder the King. He thought about the Princess for a minute. Remembering how it felt to suddenly be without any parents. Especially at such a young age.

Jellal sighed and collapsed on the bank of the stream. He splashed some water on his face to cool himself off and then looked at himself in the reflection of the water. His hair was dripping wet and messier than ever. His red eyes were subsiding with fatigue. His face was flushed. Another tough day out in the real world.

Jellal lay back and pulled out a cigarette. He almost thought about putting it back in his pocket, but he needed something to relieve the extreme weariness and stress he was in. Taking in a long drag, he felt as though all his problem were slowly drifting away.

He felt something pricking the back of his neck and sat up. "What the?" He asked, looking down at the ground. He saw nothing there.

He shuddered when the pricking turned into a tickling sensation. He reached back and pulled out the thing from his black cloak. It was a stand of hair.

Red hair.

Jellal clutched it in his fist "Erza." He murmured.

* * *

Erza woke up instantly as the sun came up, rising over the wide plains that stretched away towards the hills. She looked around to see the others preparing to carry on their journey.

The rest of the trip was quiet all that could be heard was the soft stomping of the horse hooves. When they reached the city of Crocus. The sun was beaming on the city, a golden-red ball, rising higher, drifting effortlessly up to dispel the air of the late afternoon mist.

* * *

"You stink Laxus." Natsu sneered as Laxus threw a dart at the dartboard.

Laxus smirked. "Shut your mouth Natsu. You can't even beat Gray." He laughed, pointing at a black haired man, picking up some darts so he could join the two.

Gray looked Natsu with a grin. "Told you I was better." He said.

Natsu pointed at Gray,"at least I know how to keep my clothes on." He quipped, glaring at Gray, who was only in his boxers.

"HOW THE HELL DID THIS HAPPEN?" Gray cried.

Natsu started laughing, Gray threw a punch towards the annoying pinkette. Laxus held both his arms out. Making the two slam their faces into his large hands.

"Idiots." He grumbled.

Suddenly, Macao burst through the guild doors "The King's men are here!" He cried, running into the guild.

Laxus threw a dart towards him, "that's impossible! How the hell did they manage to find our location?" He asked.

The hall was filled with gentle murmurs. Juvia turned to Wendy, who was sitting at the counter, talking to Mira. "Wendy. Where's Jellal?" She asked.

Wendy shrugged her shoulders, "he said he's busy." She lied.

Natsu regains consciousness and shot to his feet. "WHAT'S GOING ON?! IS THERE A FIGHT? I WANNA JOIN IN!" He roared, balling his fist.

Gray regains consciousness and stood up slowly, "shut up." He groaned, massaging his temples.

Suddenly, the doors opened. Laxus squinted to get a better look at the people at the door. "Long time no see. General Simon." He spat.

"Likewise." Simon snarled back.

Laxus took a gulp of his drink, "what are you guys doing in Crocus? Got lost on the way?" He mocked.

"That's very funny." Simon said sarcastically. "We're actually here to find someone.".

"That's ridiculous." Laxus sneered. "What makes you think that this person is here?".

"You don't even know who we're looking for." Simon stated, pulling out a photo and showing it to Laxus.

Natsu, being nosy, decided to take a look at the photo as well. "What's the hell is Je-" he said.

Gray slammed his fist into Natsu's face, "WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!" Natsu screamed.

Gray narrowed his eyes and looked at the photograph. "What's his name?" He asked.

"His name is Mystogun." Erza spoke, walking towards them, "he was the man that tried to kill my father."

"Mystogun? There's no su-" Natsu started, but Gray kicked him off his chair.

"She wasn't talking to you idiot! Mind your own business." Gray yelled.

Natsu scrambled to his feet, "You little piece of shit! You'll pay for that!" He screamed.

"Shut your mouth! No one asked for your opinion!" Gray screamed back.

"SHUT UP!" Laxus yelled, a large vein forming on his forehead.

"Aye!" Natsu and Gray squeaked.

"Now. As I was saying." Simon continued, "this person attempted to kill the King. Where is he?".

Laxus glared at him, "how am I suppose to know?" He asked.

Wendy took in a deep breath and stood up, "my big brother wouldn't do such a thing." She said. Even though she knew that what Simon said was true, she won't allow them to take Jellal away.

Simon looked down at Wendy. "Why don't you prove it?" He asked.

Wendy stood her ground. Glaring at Simon. "That's no way to speak to a twelve year old." A cool resounding voice said.

Everyone turned their heads to see a young man with azure hair and a red tattoo ringing his right eye. "What's going on in here?" He asked.

Juvia rolled her eyes, "where have you been?" She asked.

"Why would you want to know? It's not like you'll care." Jellal answered coldly.

Juvia turned to look at him, shocked by his sudden change in attitude.

Erza felt her heart beat faster. She clutched her katana, preparing herself to take this man's life.

"You two can argue some other time." Simon said, annoyed.

Jellal walked in and looked at Simon, "who are you?" He questioned.

"General Simon." Simon answered.

Jellal nodded his head slowly, "never heard of you before." He said sullenly.

"Mystogun." Erza snarled, injecting as much poison in to his name as possible.

"Princess Erza." Jellal replied, bowing his head.

"You know the reason we're here. I presume?" Simon asked.

"I think." Jellal mumbled, walking to the counter to get a drink.

"Don't play tricks with me." Simon intimidated.

Jellal took a gulp and narrowed his bronze orbs, "are you… Threatening me?" He asked.

Erza started to trembled. Her grip on her sword was overwhelming, making her knuckles turn white. She frowned, her lips pursed, her eyes flickering with ferocity. Her blood boiled in her veins, anger couldn't even describe how she felt. "YOU INSOLENT FOOL!" She shrieked, drawing out katana and swinging it at Jellal's throat.

Wendy watch in horror as the blade travelled closer to the vein on his throat. She reached out, "BIG BROTHER, NO!" She cried.

* * *

**Tadaa! The next chapter is up! **

**I hope you all have a great new year and don't eat too much sweets!**

**see ya soon!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Another chapter in one week! I'm free this whole week, so i'm able to work on my story more. **

**Many thanks to those who reviewed, favorited and followed the story! I really appreciate it!**

**Chapter 9: The true murderer.**

* * *

Everyone lunged forward with their weapons drawn.

Jellal held out his arm, "wait," He said. Abruptly stopping them from hacking off each others limbs.

He looked down at the razor sharp edge, pressing down on the side of his neck.

"if you want to start a fight between us. Then by all means do it." Laxus hissed, "You'll regret the first moment you set foot in our guild .".

"You guys chose the wrong guild to mess with." Gray said angrily, holding out his Wakizashi.

"Tell your comrades to put their weapons down!" Cobra said through clenched teeth.

"Why don't you put your weapons down first?" Laxus asked, "besides you were the ones who started this."

"A real man doesn't need any weapons!" Elfman cried.

Laxus turned to Jellal, "you better know what you're doing. If the Princess slits your throat. I swear, I'll kill you." He threatened.

Jellal lowered his head, his blue bangs covering his eyes, and didn't answer.

Erza hissed and pressed the blade on his skin harder, drawing blood from him. She was surprised that he didn't wince nor did he move. He just stood there, motionless. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't drive my blade through your throat and end your life." She snarled, watching the blood drip from his neck, bit by bit.

Jellal looked back up at her blazing brown eyes. Erza gasped slightly when she saw pain and sadness within his bronze eyes. "I'm afraid I don't have a reason why you shouldn't. So if you want to do it. Do it." Jellal said flatly, his voice steely and emotionless, "I'm not stopping you."

Erza stood, unable to move. Why isn't he fighting back? Is this man asking to be killed? Or is he just playing another one of those stupid mind games? Either way, she couldn't move her wrist. In fact, her whole entire being was completing immobilized.

Jellal narrowed his eyes at the scarlet haired Princess. She looked exactly like him when he was pointing the gun at the King.

Too afraid to kill.

"Slice my throat, spill my blood. Get your revenge. Isn't that what you came here for?" Jellal asked plainly.

"Do it and just get it over with!" Simon hissed.

"At least if you kill me, don't do it in front of my little sisters." Jellal begged.

Erza turned her head to meet Wendy's eyes, flooded with tears. She trembled.

Those eyes.

She recalled that her own eyes were exactly like that when her mother was killed in front of her. Now, she was fighting with her own conscience. Shall she do it? Or not?

The man who attempted to murder her father was standing, defenceless, in front of her. But she can't kill an unarmed man. That's just unfair.

Life isn't fair

She couldn't bring herself to kill, no matter how hard she tried. Her mind became slightly fuzzy and she was getting a migraine from just arguing with herself.

Did she really wanted to kill him?

Jellal observed her as she lowered her sword. The other soldiers did the same, including Simon and Cobra. He looked at the blood covering the tip of her sword and shuddered. That blade could've sliced his throat and ended his life easily.

The Princess lowered her head. Scarlet hair covering her tearful brown eyes.

Jellal frowned, "Hey, are you alright?" He asked.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Erza snapped, storming away.

Jellal watched as the Princess, Cobra, Simon and the army left the guild.

Natsu stood by the blue haired man's side, "well, she clearly isn't." He said.

Gray joined the two, "nice observation flame brain." He sneered, turning to look at Jellal. "damn she fine."

"Gray has a crush on the princess!" Natsu laughed.

Gray felt his cheeks burning up. "NO I DON'T!" he roared. "AS A MATTER OF FACT, I HAVE A GIRLFRIEND!"

The two began bickering again. However, Jellal didn't do anything to stop them. He was too lost in deep thoughts to care about them.

The look Erza had in her eyes haunted him. She was so afraid and angry at the same time. Her hand were shaking and judging by her lack of movement, she was paralysed with fear.

Much like him.

But he attempted to kill her father. Why did she spare him?

"You scared me Jellal! Don't do that again!" Wendy sobbed, hugging him.

"Don't worry Wendy. Your big brother knows what he's doing." Jellal said, looking at his comrades.

Maybe if the princess did kill him, she would've started an all out war between the guilds and the royal army. Because, once fairy tail starts a war, every guild in Fiore would probably join in and cause mass devastation. Then, no one would be safe.

Laxus grinned, "man how I wish I was a manipulative as you." He smirked.

"It takes a real man to stand up to a woman." Elfman said suddenly.

Laxus and Jellal turned to look at him. "Ah. I guess it does." Jellal mumbled.

Wendy looked up at the cut on Jellal's neck, "Jellal, you're bleeding." she said, worried.

Jellal looking lifted his hand to the cut on his neck. His warm blood stained his pale hands. He heard the Princess yelling from outside. He massaged his forehead, one question bugging him.

Why didn't she kill him?

* * *

Erza rushed to her horse and mounted herself. Simon followed her quickly, "Erza! Wait!" He called.

"What do you want?" She growled.

"Why didn't you-" Simon started.

" DON'T YOU DARE TALK ABOUT THAT!" Erza screamed. Axe, sensing Erza's anger reared up its front legs and took off.

"ERZA!" She heard them call after her.

"i just want to be alone..." Erza whispered.

Axe galloped into the forest with Erza clutching on to his reins. Tears of anger flooded in her eyes and she gave a huff of frustration. "Axe, why didn't I do it?" She asked. "why am i so afraid?".

Erza failed her mission. She failed to get revenge. She failed her father.

The white steed slowed his pace and started to trot. Erza wiped he tears away and looked around. Suddenly, Axe jerked to a stop and pricked his ears forward. He squealed loudly, hearing distant galloping.

Two hooded figures became visible to her eyes. Her anger slowly started to disintegrate to fear.

Kidnappers.

"We need to get outta here now!" She yelled. Axe took off quickly.

"Over there! It's the Princess!" One of the figures pointed out.

"Shit." Erza cursed. The two figures were catching up. And they were catching up fast.

She closed her eyes and hoped that this was all a dream. Begging herself to wake from this awful nightmare. But it was all real and she couldn't escape it.

She turned her head back to see that the two figures were gone. Her brow quirked in confusion. Was she just hallucinating because of stress?

Erza heard the ping of a bowstring. It was too late for them. The arrow hit Axe straight on his hind leg. He squealed in pain and lost balance. Falling to the ground hard.

Erza screamed in pain when she felt Axe's dead weight crushing her left leg. His heavy breathing echoed in her ears. "Axe..." She whispered. Watching the life seep from his eyes.

With one last push, Erza manage to break free from the horse's body. She looked down at Axe's lifeless body, "Axe, I'm so sorry." she whispered.

"OVER THERE! I COULD HEAR HER VOICE."

Erza stood up quickly. She winced and collapsed on a tree, using it as support. The fall inflicted an injury on her leg. At this moment in time, she's in jeopardy.

She scolded herself for not listening to Simon and letting her anger get a hold of her. She should've stayed with the others, where she'd be safe.

But she didn't.

Now, she's standing in the depths of the forest, injured and lost. With kidnappers after her. The princess is now vulnerable.

Hearing the kidnappers closing in on her, Erza limped towards another tree, strapping her katana to her back. If Erza's going down, she's not going down without a fight.

A twig snapped and Erza turned around immediately, crossing blades with her kidnapper. The kidnapper smirked and jumped back. Erza narrowed her eyes, and she glared at her enemy. From under his hood, the man grinned, "Princess Erza. What are you doing out here? You lost?" he sneered, hefting his sword.

"Fuck you." Erza spat, launching herself at him. She ignored the pain shooting from her left leg, and thrust her blade towards his chest. He dodged the attack and swung at her.

Erza parried the attack, keeping the blade close to her. She trapped his blade and then knocked it aside, making him lose his balance. He pulled down his hood, revealing his tanned skin, brown hair and brown eyes. Like Simon, he had a strong and muscular build.

He grinned and dashed towards the princess. Their battle was intense, silver flashes flying in every directions, metallic clanging of blades. One false move can prove fatal to either one of them. Erza pushed his sword upwards, she saw an opening and immediately went for it. Slashing his torso, he cried out. She landed a powerful blow which connected with his sword, sending shockwaves up his arms, forcing him to let go of his weapon.

Erza slammed her fist into his face and he fell back. She pointed her katana at him. "who are you? Who sent you here?" she asked.

"that is a secret." a new voice said.

All of a sudden, someone grabbed her from behind. Erza began thrashing around violently, trying to break free from his grip. "LET ME GO!" she screamed.

"Princess Erza. Pleasure to meet you." he whispered, gipping her tighter.

"WAIT TILL SIMON AND THE OTHERS FINDS ME! YOU'LL BE SORRY!" Erza screamed.

"There's no one going to come and save you." he laughed

Tears came to Erza's eyes, "THATS A LIE!" she cried.

He smirked and placed a tissue over her mouth. She instantly recognises the smell of the chemical on it.

Chloroform.

He leaned down, his lips pressing on her ear, whispering: "nighty-night princess...".

* * *

"Come on Wendy! keep up" Jellal called, turning to see Wendy slowing catching up to him.

Wendy stopped next to him, smiling brightly. This is probably the first time Jellal and Wendy spent time together. She felt content, finally being able to stand by her brother's side.

"Thelonius isn't as fast as Shadow." Wendy said, looking down at her chestnut coloured horse.

"it's because you rarely ride him." Jellal reminded. "you need to build up his muscles."

Wendy pouted and looked around. Her eyes locked on to a Doe, who was standing several feet away from them. "Jellal," she whispered, "there's a Doe over there."

Jellal looked at where she was pointing and went to get his bow, which was hanging on his back. "Wendy, get out your bow." he ordered.

Wendy nodded and followed Jellal's command. "now what?" she asked.

"clasp it in your right hand and hold it up." he instructed, "grab an arrow and place it on the rest. Aim at the doe and pull back at the string."

Wendy obeyed him and pulled the bowstring back. She let go and the arrow missed and hit a tree, making the Doe retreat into the trees.

"tough luck Wendy. We can try again next time" Jellal reassured.

Wendy frowned, "Archery is impossible." she huffed.

"If you think it's impossible. It'll be impossible." Jellal stated, "But, if you know there's a way. The world will open up and offer up its powers to you."

"That doesn't make any sense." she murmured.

"You're cute when you're jealous." Jellal said.

Wendy smiled, "I'm not jealous! It's not like you're any better." she teased.

Jella chuckled, "watch and learn." he smirked, aiming his bow at an apple tree. He watched an apple break loose from its branch and started to fall. He quickly let go of the bowstring and the arrow impaled the apple back on the tree.

"show off." Wendy whispered.

Jellal stopped smiling and looked around. "can you hear that?" he asked.

"you're hearing things again." Wendy answered.

Shadow can feel the atmosphere grow tense, and started to fidget. "Let's go home now." Jellal said, narrowing his eyes at his surroundings.

Their horses started to trot slowly. Jellal listened carefully for anything suspicious. He pulled at Shadow's reins. Halting him.

Wendy turned around, "everything okay Jellal?" she asked.

Jellal picked up voices from the trees.

"I'm sure master will be pleased that we manage to kidnap princess Erza without anyone noticing." He heard the voice spoke.

His heart skipped a beat when he heard them mention 'Princess Erza.'. Jellal recalled back to after the Princess stormed out the guild. He heard her scream and then she took off into the forest.

An uncomfortable feeling stirred up in his stomach.

She's been taken.

He has to save her.

It was the only way to atone for the sins he has committed.

"Wendy, go home. I have to do something." Jellal commanded.

"no." she said quickly, "i'm not leaving you."

"But Wendy-" Jellal argued.

"I said i'm not going." she said, crossing her arms.

Jellal huffed in defeat and nodded. "Fine." he mumbled, looking at the darkening sky. He slid down his horse. "Stay here with Shadow and wait for me"

* * *

Jellal hid behind a tree, and leaned his head forward, eavesdropping on the kidnappers conversation.

"Don't worry. The Princess is the least of our worries. All we need to do is get rid of the King."

"Now that the King's injured. We could easily get into the Castle."

"what happened to Zancrow?"

"He died because someone was able to skillfully manipulate the pressure point on his head and neck.".

Jellal gulped. Remembering the mission he completed last night.

"Hm. Do we have to look out for this person? I mean. Just in case he tries to mess up the plan, right?"

"We've nothing to worry about. He's probably somewhere far away."

Jellal looked around and his eyes caught something scarlet. Jellal gasped in shock. She was leaning on a tree a few feet from him. Her face was pale, blood was dripping from a gash on her left temple. Cuts covered her entire being and a serious injury was sustained on her left leg.

The Princess.

He looked at the two kidnappers sitting around the fire. Deep in their conversation. Jellal quietly crawled towards the princess and used his daggers to cut the ropes which tied her to the tree. Every now and then, he would turn to look at the kidnappers, hoping they won't notice him. He gently cupped her face and looked at her.

'She's beautiful.' he thought. Her hair was a ferocious shade of scarlet. Something Jellal found really intriguing. Her long lashes fluttered in her sleep and her plump lips curved slightly. She was a picture of perfection.

His hands slid down to her slender neck and placed his index and middle finger on the side of it. The was a pulse, but it was faint. He turned back to the kidnappers, who were still talking, unaware of Jellal's presence.

He took off his black cloak and tore it to shreds, wrapping the piece of material on her injuries. He knew that although she tried to kill him, he had to help her. She was the princess, and he just couldn't bear to leave her with these kidnappers. God knows what they'll do to her.

As gently as he could, Jellal lifted Erza from the ground, Trying to make a little noise as possible. He began to walk away, smirking at the fact that the kidnappers didn't realise he took her.

Erza opened her eyes. Even though her vision was blurred, she could see blue hair and intense bronze eyes. She tried to open her eyes, but instead, they closed and drifted back into the darkness.

* * *

"How could you lose the Princess? There was more than 10 of you out there!" Hades yelled.

Cobra bowed, "forgive us Prince Hades." He said.

Lucy ran into the throne room, "Erza's gone isn't she? We have to find her!" She screamed.

Hades sighed and massaged his forehead, "I'm conscious of what's going on now." he mumbled. "However, we don't even know where she is at the moment. She could be anywhere."

"I don't care! She saved my life, now it's my turn to return the favour!" She argued.

Simon looked at her, "Lucy, you heard the Prince." He said.

"The King will do it! Why won't you?" Lucy asked.

"I will do it. It's just that, she was taken outside the Kingdom of Fiore. How are we suppose to know where she is?" Hades questioned.

Lucy shook her head, "taken out the kingdom or not, she's still out there." She huffed turning away, "I'm going and you're not going to stop me."

Hades rolled his eyes, "go knock yourself out." He grumbled.

"You're not going to stop her Sir?" Cobra asked.

"She wants to go. I won't stop her." Hades said.

Cobra turned away and ran after her. Simon was just about to stop him, when Hades stopped Simon.

"Leave them." Hades sighed.

"But what about the Lucy?" Simon asked, "what if she finds Erza?"

"Erza will be long gone before they get to her." Hades smirked.

"What about the King?" Simon questioned.

"Once he hears about poor Erza, he'll be in a state of depression. We can easily wipe him out and say that he committed suicide because he couldn't stand the thought of not being there for his daughter." Hades grinned, "and then, the Kingdom of Fiore will be mine."

* * *

**Bet you weren't expecting that!**

**I guess I'll see you all next year**

**Happy new year to you all!**


	10. Chapter 10

**School starts tomorrow and I've finally finished all my homework!**

**SilverSapphire34523: I'm might add some bonding time with Juvia. Still unsure though. **

**I keep forgetting to mention the OOC in my story. What do you expect? It's an AU.**

**Enough of my speaking. Here's the next chapter!**

**Chapter 10: Hope**

* * *

Erza wince at the pain erupting from her throbbing forehead and her left leg. She began to stir, and woke up slowly. She was still hearing the voices of her was also sounds inside her head, buzzing and humming, the sounds of numbness and dizziness.

She kept her eyes closed and tried to think about the last thing she could remember. She saw his blue hair, his maroon tattoo and his bronze eyes. His powerful arms holding her close to him.

Very slowly, she began to open her eyes. The morning light cut in and forced her to close them. She tried again. Opening her eyes slowly and letting them adjust to the surrounding light. She noticed that she was no longer slumping against a tree on the cold forest ground. But laying in a large bed, with soft sheets around her.

She raised her hand to her forehead and ran her thumb across her bandages. Her eyes travelled down to her left leg which was bandaged as well. She sat up and looked around. The place was plain and simple, only a few furniture scattered across the room. "Where am I?" she mumbled to herself.

As quietly as she could, she swung her legs and sat at the edge of her bed. She reached out to her katana, which was leaning against the side, and strapped it on her back. Erza looked down at her bandaged leg and huffed, 'Who ever did this to me, is gonna pay.' she thought, pushing herself off the support of the bed.

She lost balance at first. But then, she manage to compose herself. Cautiously, she limped out the room, one hand on the handle of her weapon, trying to disregard the pain from her injuries.

She walked into the, rather small, living space. She swiftly gripped the handle of her sword when she heard a gentle mumble. Sleeping soundly on the sofa was the blue haired assassin who attempted to kill her father and then, saved her life.

Erza approached the man resting on the sofa. The innocence of this person showed on his sleeping face. His silky blue hair shone in the dim light. Somehow, she was tempted to run her fingers in it, over and over again. Her eyes wandered over to the swirly maroon coloured tattoo, almost covering the entire right side of his face.

Her eyes travelled down, and she found himself staring at him on awe. His shirt revealed much of his broad, pectoral muscles, and his strong arms, which were folded behind his head. One of his legs was slung over the backrest of the sofa.

Erza shakily removed her katana from its ivory sheath and held it above the man's throat. Now was her chance to take his life. No one would notice, since no one was here. She could just kill him silently and quickly. She wouldn't have to endure looking into his hurtful eyes. Just one swift movement and it would all be over. Erza glanced around the room.

No witnesses.

She turned back to him and hesitated again. HE saved her life. HE saved her from those kidnappers. HE risked his life for her. If it wasn't for him, she'd probably be dead.

Erza shook her head and removed the blade from his throat. She then collapsed on the sofa, staring out the window.

Maybe, revenge isn't always the answer.

* * *

"We're sorry Sir, but Erza disappeared into the forest last night." A brown haired man said, bowing his head.

Hades stood up abruptly. He grabbed the man's collar and slammed him against the wall. Everyone around them fell silent. "I told you to KILL her, Azuma." He hissed. "What part of KILL did you not get?".

Azuma gulped, "But Prince Hades," he stammered, "Zeref told me, that you told him, to tell the others, to tell me to kidnap the princess. Not kill her."

Hades growled furiously and threw Azuma on the floor. He turned to the black haired man, "So, Zeref," he said, "This is your doing?"

Zeref bowed his head, "no my Prince. It wasn't me." He said coolly.

"I'm supposed to have strong warriors in my guild!" Hades roared, "instead, I have people who can't even follow orders!"

Simon chuckled, "if you're going to recruit people sire, don't let Capricorn do it." He joked.

Capricorn scoffed, "shut up." He mumbled. "Ever since Ultear and Meredy-"

Hades grabbed a dagger from his belt and threw it at him, "don't you dare speak of those names!" He snarled.

Capricorn nodded, "Forgive me, your highness." He said.

Hades pointed at Azuma, "go look for the Princess. I'm sure she didn't venture far from where you were last." He commanded, turning to the Zeref, "Zeref, I want you to gather the others."

Zeref smirked and bowed, "of course Sire." He answered.

"Capricorn, go with him." Hades said.

Capricorn nodded and followed Zeref out the room.

"Simon." Hades called, "once Cobra and Lucy leave to find Erza. I want you to ambush them."

"With pleasure." Simon chuckled.

"No one's going to get in my way." Hades said darkly, "anyone who does, will wish they'd never been born."

"My Prince?" Azuma asked, poking his head from the door.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU STILL DOING HERE?!" Hades bellowed.

"Sir, I was wondering." Azuma started, "what shall I do when I have the Princess?"

"Bring her back to me." Hades answered, grinning darkly "I don't care whether she's dead or alive."

* * *

_"Do it Jellal."_

_Jellal opened his eyes and found himself pointing a gun at the King of Fiore._

_"Do it."_

_A loud gunshot sounded. The King choke up some blood and collapsed forward._

_Jellal looked at the dark figure behind him. All he could see was the demonic grin plastered on his evil face. He looked back down at the King._

_So much blood._

_"What have you done?" A shocked voice screeched. Jellal's head shot around._

_It was the Princess._

_She leaned down beside her father, "you monster!" She barked._

_"You disgrace my name." Said a voice._

_Jellal looked beyond the darkness "Dad?" He asked._

_Siegrain shook his head, "don't ever refer me as your 'dad'. You're not my son." He spat._

_"But dad! I didn't do anything." Jellal cried._

_"Stop arguing Jellal." Juvia hissed, "we all know it's your doing."_

_Wendy narrowed her eyes, "it's all your fault." She mumbled._

_Everyone began slowly approach in the blue haired man, cornering him against the wall. "It's your fault." They said in unison._

_Jellal had hot tears streaming down his cheeks, "please! I didn't do anything!" He begged._

_"It's all your fault Jellal."_

_"NOOOOO!"_

Jellal cried out in agony. He jerked upwards, his chest heaved rapidly, desperately trying to catch his run-away breath. He reached up shakily, wiping the beads of sweat from his face and then running his hands through his blue hair.

Ever since the attempted assassination on the King. Jellal has been haunted by the same recurring nightmares. He closed his eyes briefly, trying to rid his mind from the horrific thoughts.

He cringed and stood up, "it was just a dream." He whispered to himself, "just a dream."

But it wasn't.

Jellal headed to the front door, wanting to get some fresh air.

"Big brother?" A sweet little voice spoke.

Jellal stopped in his tracks and turned around. Wendy stood at the room's door, gesturing for him to 'come here'. Before he could say something, Wendy disappeared back into the room. "Wendy?" he asked, making his way to her.

He slowly opened the door and entered. Mira, Levy and Wendy were sitting by the Princess' side, talking quietly to each other. Jellal cleared his throat, making them all look up at him. "Morning ladies." he greeted.

Mira frowned, "morning?" she asked, "it's already afternoon."

Jellal's eyes widened, "oh," he said, shocked slightly.

Erza stared at him. Mesmerized by his deep, beautiful voice. His gaze was cold and icy, sending shivers down her spin. However, once it met hers, it immediately softened. He bowed his head, "Your highness." he murmured.

She was fascinated at the fact that his eyes were a metallic brown colour, hinting some green in it. But in the sunlight, it turned into a shade of gold Erza has never seen before. She felt a strange sensation brewing in her stomach, like the fluttering of thousands of butterflies. Her face started to heat up as she carried on staring at the blue haired man's charming eyes.

Mira decided to break the tension, "So, Mystogun..." she started slowly.

Levy quirked a brow, "Who's Mystog-" she said. She stopped when Mira nudged her hard. "OUCH! What was that for?" she asked, glaring at the demon.

Mira smiled innocently, "honestly Levy. Don't interrupt me when i'm trying to talk to your cousin." she said sweetly, turning back to Jellal. "As i was saying... We heard you screaming. Is everything okay?"

Jellal ripped his gaze from the princess and looked at her, "yeah... I'm fine. Just kicked the side of the sofa." he lied.

Erza narrowed her eyes. He's lying. She could read this man like a book, just by looking at his eyes. When Mira mentioned him screaming, his face suddenly tensed, and he looked uncomfortable. She could see the fear hidden behind his golden orbs.

"Where's Juvia?" Jellal questioned.

"Gray picked her up earlier. I think she's at the guild." Levy answered.

Jellal sighed, "why do I bother wasting my breath on her?" he asked, turning to the door, "well ladies, i bid thee farewell." He turned to Wendy, "you coming Wendy?"

Wendy's eyes brightened up and she followed her brother. She stopped and curtsied to the princess, "It was a pleasure to meet you, Princess Erza." she said respectfully.

Erza smiled, "It was nice to meet you to Wendy. I hope to see you again later." she replied, looking to Jellal, who rushed out the door. Erza swore she saw a small blush line on his cheek. Erza felt herself blushing harder.

Can this be the feeling of love?

* * *

"Jellal, where are we?" Wendy asked, slumping on her Thelonius' neck, "We've been travelling for ages."

Shadow halted, and Jellal slid off his back. "Come on Wendy. Stop complaining." He mumbled, "We're here."

Wendy dismounted herself and looked around. She gasped at the beauty of the natural surroundings and walked towards the crystal clear water of the flowing river. With the help of the shades from the trees above, the bank was alive with nesting birds. She turned her attention back to the river. Different colored fishes were abundant in it, ranging from orange to blue, small to big.

A nearby waterfall sprayed Wendy with cool, refreshing water. The delicate sparkling of its spray was almost supernatural. She looked up at the water tumbling off the cliff face, crashing down on the rocks. Despite the loud, thunderous roar of the waterfall, the place was extremely peaceful.

"Jellal." Wendy gasped, looking at the magnificent sight before her. "This place is amazing."

Jellal knelt down before the water, "Do you remember me taking you here 6 years ago?" he asked.

Wendy smiled, "yeah, I do." she replied, "that was before you turned boring."

Jellal smirked, "boring eh?" he questioned, "We'll see about that."

He jumped in and splashed her with the warm water. "Boring?" he asked, "Who's boring-"

But Wendy stopped his sentence by showering him with lots of water, drenching him. She started to laugh uncontrollably.

He scowled and chased her, "that wasn't fair! I weren't ready."

The two played under the smiling sun, until the sky changed from blue to orange. It reminded Wendy of when they were kids. When Juvia wasn't a love-sick puppy. When Jellal's heart was bright, warm and radiant, much like the sun. When family life wasn't as hard as it is now.

She collapsed on the bank, looking at him. A large smile was plastered on his lips. Wendy hasn't seen him smile like this in ages. Ever since he started assassinating, he has never smiled and his heart turned cold and remote. She was glad to see that Jellal has returned to his old self again.

"Jellal?" Wendy asked, "are you in love with the princess?"

Jellal's eyes shot open,"what makes you think that?" he answered.

"the way you looked at her." Wendy grinned. She watched his face slowly reddened.

"no." He snapped.

"oh, come on Jellal." Wendy pouted. "tell me the truth."

Jellal sat up, "even if i was in love with her- which I'm definitely not- it won't work out. She's a princess and I'm an outlaw. A fugitive." he said sadly.

Wendy looked down at her hands, "I don't think you're a fugitive." she said, "and besides. I think the princess has a thing for you."

He chuckled slightly, "only you would think that Wendy." he said, looking at her.

"Jellal," Wendy uttered, "What's holding you back?"

He sighed and sat up, staring at two birds flying around gracefully. "My reputation. I would only put them in danger."

"Let go of the past Jelly." she implored, "promise me that you'll and open up your heart."

"Anything for you." he smiled, ""You're so unintentionally kind. Just like mom."

They stared at the sky, which started to darken. "you know Wendy," Jellal chuckled. "I think Romeo has a thing for you."

Wendy punched him in the arm, "Very funny." she sulked.

* * *

**Later that night. **

Erza looked at the full moon outside the window. She turned to the door and limped out the room. The house was dark, and the pale moonlight shone through the curtains. She poked her head into Wendy' room, finding her fast asleep. She smiled, remembering how kind she was to her. Even though she tried to kill her brother.

With her katana hanging on her back, she walked towards the front door, reached out her hand to grasp the door handle.

"where do you think you're going?"

Erza turned to see Jellal standing there. His arms crossed over his well-toned chest.

"I'm going home." she answered.

Jellal chuckled, "That's funny. I never knew you were good with jokes." he mocked.

"I'm not joking." Erza growled.

"right," Jellal laughed, "It's dark outside. You're injured and you're going on your own."

"so?" she asked.

"I admire your bravery princess. However, you wouldn't last ten seconds out there." Jellal asserted.

"I don't really care to be honest. I'm going and you're not stopping me." Erza huffed, turning back to the door.

"You can't leave anyway." Jellal grinned, holding up the keys to the house.

Erza growled and drew her katana. "If i win. I get the keys." she grumbled.

"I'm not fighting you," Jellal said, "You're injured."

"wuss..." she whispered.

Jellal rolled his eyes and drew out his sword, sliding it up and down her blade. "Fine." he hissed, parrying an incoming attack.

The two exchanged backswings and foreswings, thrust and parries at incredible speed. Jellal narrowed his eyes at her, he could tell that her injuries are having a toll on her. He flicked her sword up in the air and caught it. She looked at him, bewildered. "how?" she questioned.

Suddenly, Erza found herself trapped in-between his arms, looking into his eyes. Their weapons on the floor beside his feet. The strange butterfly feeling returned and she could her heart thumping loudly in her ears.

"Looks like i win." he whispered triumphantly.

"Mystogun. Please, let me go." she pleaded.

"It's Jellal." he spoke.

"pardon me?"she asked.

"My real name is Jellal." he said.

"Jellal," Erza mumbled.

"Erza, you're injured and you don't even know the way back." he argued, "Just stay until you're healed."

This was the first time he said her name without saying the 'Princess' before it. In his eyes, Erza saw the word 'please'.

"fine." she said, defeated.

He leaned closer to her, his lips hovering above her own. "Erza..." he whispered. His breath making her legs go weak. "I've got a feeling we're going to be great friends."

Erza closed her eyes, feeling the warmth radiate from his lips. "so can i." she whispered back, trying to hold back the urge to kiss him.

He smiled and turned away, leaving her breathless. "Jellal, I'll stay if you take me to the guild tomorrow." Erza called

He turned back to her and nodded. Erza couldn't help but smile back. "Thank you for saving me." she said.

Erza saw him blush and watched him disappear into the darkness of the house. She sighed dreamily and placed her fingers on her lips.

For the first time. Erza felt hopeful.

* * *

**There is going to be more Jerza coming up in the next chapters. That is a promise!**

**Until then Mes Amigos!**

**Adios! **


	11. Chapter 11

**Well, another update within a week. School hasn't been that manic lately. It's rather chilled out.**

**Thank you for your reviews! I really do appreciate them!**

**This chapter is a gift for you guys! Enjoy!**

**Chapter 11: The past is not the present.**

* * *

"Welcome to the fairy tail guild." Jellal said, opening the doors to the hall.

The guild was causing havoc. As usual.

The atmosphere in the guild was completely different to how it was when she last visited. Now, everyone was more reckless. Erza saw two people, a person with blonde hair and a person with green hair, sword fighting on a table. A brunette drowning herself in alcohol. Mirajane and what seems to be her two siblings talking at the counter.

When they saw the Princess they stopped what they were doing and stared at her. "What are you doing here?" Laxus asked.

Jellal stood in front of her, holding his arm out. "Peace Laxus." he assured, "She's with me."

"What's she doing with you?" Laxus questioned, "she tried to kill you."

The guild erupted with voices, "She was kidnapped." Jellal spoke.

"Kidnapped?" the blonde asked, "by whom?"

Erza shrugged, "I don't know." she replied, "But, I'd like to apologise for what happened. It was wrong for me to come here and threaten a fellow comrade."

Laxus bowed, "your apology has been accepted Princess." he mumbled, "any friend of Jellal's, is a friend of ours."

"Please, call me Erza. I don't want none of these 'Princess' business." she chuckled, looking at a pinkette and a black haired man approaching them.

"where have you been Jellal?" Natsu asked.

"Pinky's right. We thought you were dead." Gray smirked.

"I've been spending time with Wendy." Jellal answered, turning to the scarlet haired women beside him. "Erza, this is Natsu Dragneel and Gray Fullbuster. My two most trusted friends."

Natsu grinned, "how's it going?" he asked.

Gray gently took her hand and kissed her knuckles, "greeting your highness." he murmured.

"Pleasure to meet you two." Erza greeted.

Everyone in the guild went back to what they were doing. "is the guild always this rowdy?" Erza asked, ducking from an incoming beer glass.

Jellal nodded and gestured to a seat at the counter, "pretty much." he replied.

"well, it's more rowdy when the other guilds come over." Gray corrected.

She looked at him, "There's more?" she queried.

Natsu nodded, "there's Lamia scale, Sabertooth and Blue pegasus." he listed.

While Natsu was rambling about the other guilds, Gray tapped Jellal's shoulder, "hey, Jellal." he mumbled, "Juvia's looking for you."

"Where?" Jellal asked, "Where is she?"

"She's with Wendy." Gray answered, "they're waiting for you in the forest. She said it was important."

"Watch the Princess till i get back." Jellal commanded, rushing out the guild door.

Laxus watched the door closed, "What's the matter with him?"

"so, Mr Gray Fullbuster," Erza said, "Tell me more about him."

Gray looked at the princess, "Who?" he asked.

"Jellal." she answered quickly, wanting to know more about this mysterious man.

"him? Not much is known about him." He explained, "Even though he's the best in the guild. No one knows anything about him."

Erza pursed her lips together, "really?" she questioned, "there has to be something you know?"

Gray picked up his drink, "He's really good with weaponry. Give him a weapon, and he'll know how to use it." he expounded, "Take a gun for example: He knew how to use it the minute he saw it."

"Anything else?"

"Well. He came to us when he was twelve." He started, "He said he needed a place for him and his two sisters to stay. Laxus gladly showed him to the apartments in Fiore and made him and his sisters members of the guild."

"He never spoke of his past?"

"Never. But, just by looking in to his eyes, you can tell that this man is possessed by it." he whispered, moving his face closer to the princess. "He's haunted by his own past."

"Who's haunted? Come on Gray, don't tell me you believe in ghost now?!" Natsu asked, sitting himself between Gray and Erza.

Gray scowled, "Stop butting into other people's businesses!" he snarled.

"Mr Dragneel?" Erza asked.

"Mr Dragneel?" Natsu laughed, "call me Natsu."

"Okay then, Natsu." she started again, "your buddy Jellal."

Natsu nodded and gulped down his liquor, "Oh aye?" he answered.

"tell me about him." she said, "i want to know."

He sighed, "Like what Stripper said, Not much is known about him." he reiterated.

"You were eavesdropping?" Gray asked angrily.

"shut up and let me continue." Natsu growled. "He is a man of many mysteries and secrets."

Gray sighed, "He's a great man and friend. Like a brother to us." he spoke, "Alas, no one will ever find out the truth behind his past."

"That's scary." she breathed, "I never knew..."

"Princess." Gray mumbled.

"Call me Erza." she said, "I don't really like being referred as 'Princess."

"Go easy on the poor guy." Gray pleaded, "He's been through alot."

"who's been through alot?" a new voice asked, joining the conversation.

The trio turned their attention to the blue haired man standing in front of them.

Speak of the devil.

Gray shot to his feet, "we were just talking about Laxus!" he lied.

Jellal raised a brow, confused by his strange behaviour, "indeed." he mumbled, "I just came back to say, since Juvia's out with Wendy, I'm off to the river."

Natsu grinned, "That's fine with me! I need to go sharpen my weapons!" he yelled enthusiastically, "Come on Gray, let's go."

"See you later Jell." Gray saluted.

The two stood in awkward silence before Jellal spoke up, "Care to join me?" he asked.

Erza nodded, "sure," she agreed.

* * *

Jellal collapsed on the river bank, soaking in the sunlight that shone upon him.

Erza sat parallel to him, looking at the peaceful scenery around them. "you come here all the time?" she asked, breaking the silence.

"Yup, It's the only place i could relax and train without Juvia scolding me." Jellal answered.

More awkward silence. Just what Erza wanted.

She swallowed a lump in her throat, nervous about asking him her next question. She knew she can't jump right into the situation, that'll make things more awkward. She needed to think of something else.

"Can you teach me how to… you know?" she asked, "use a sword properly?"

Jellal opened his eyes and sat up, "excuse me?" he questioned, "teach you?"

"Is there a problem with that?" she asked, clearly offended. "You're pretty good with a sword. Maybe if you help me improve my sword skills, father will finally let me out the castle."

"What makes you think that I'm the right person?" he asked.

"You disarmed me with with ease. Twice." she explained, "you fought and won against my dad."

"I'm not really sure that's a good idea."

"If you don't agree to it, I'll keep annoying you."

"Yeah. Well, i'm not really good wi-"

"Liar."

"Erza, stop being so absur-"

"Liar."

"Listen to me for a minu-"

"Liar."

"Great…" he sighed and massaged his temples, "How's your leg?"

"That's no part of the-"

"I said: How's your leg?"

"It's fine." she huffed, "Look, that's not really apart of th-"

All of a sudden, something silver flew towards her. As instinct, Erza reacted by retaliating with her own blade.

"Good." Jellal whispered, "Let's begin"

Erza pushed him back and swung for his throat. He parried the attack and thrust his blade towards her stomach. Startled, Erza attempted to divert the direction of his sword. But he quickly saw through her and disarmed her. Erza gasped as she watched her sword fall to the ground.

He wrapped his arms around her back, pulled her towards him and held his sword against her throat. "dead." he mumbled.

Erza blushed at the position they were in. She could feel his steady heartbeats and his muscles tensing. Again, Erza found herself staring into his eyes.

He truly is handsome.

"Rule number 1: Never let your guard down." he said, releasing her from his hold. He picked up her katana and handed it to her. "again."

Erza charged towards him. But Jellal slammed his sword on her katana. The vibrations made her let go of her blade. Jellal grabbed her wrist and pinned her on the tree. He pressed his body on hers, effectively closing the gap between them. "Dead again." he whispered, gazing at her bright red face.

She panted heavily. How was this man able to disarm her again?

He let go of her wrists and walked back slightly. "The next thing you have to know about sword fighting, is that it's just like dancing."

"Dancing?" Erza laughed.

Jellal began moving his feet. Left. Right. Left. Left. Right. Left. Right. "I'm sure the royals have lots of experience with dancing. "

Erza mimicked him, following each individual footstep. "Stop being so stereotypical." Impatiently, she charged towards him, but Jellal stood out her way.

"Rule number 2: Let your opponent make the first move." he spoke, "Let's try that again."

* * *

**One week later.**

Hades looked down at his younger brother, "What did mother and father see in you?" he spat. "All I could see is a little boy, crying for his mommy."

"Prince Hades." Simon called, "We found this one snooping around in your chambers."

The guards brought in Lucy, who thrashing around, trying to break free.

"LEMME GO!"

Hades grinned, "Hello again, Lucy." he greeted. "It's been a week now, still no luck with the princess?"

"I tried!" Lucy cried, "But the guards. They keep sending me back to the castle."

"Pity." he uttered under his breath.

"HADES!" Lucy screamed, "IT'S BEEN A WEEK! YOU HAVEN'T EVEN LIFTED A FINGER TO HELP FIND HER!"

"Erza." Makarov whispered. His eyes fluttered open, "My daughter. Where is she?"

"KING MAKAROV!" Lucy screamed.

"Lucy?" he asked, "what's wrong?"

"ERZA'S BEEN KIDNAPPED." she cried.

Makarov's eyes widened, "I must help her." he whispered weakly.

Polyusica shook her head, "Your majesty. You're still in critical condition." she said.

Makarov had tears forming in his eyes, "I'm her father. I must help." he pleaded.

"Brother," Hades spoke, "I've already sent some men down to find her."

"Hades," Makarov breathed, "What are you doing here?"

"When i heard the new about what happened to you. I came here straight away." Hades explained, "I promise we will find her."

"Thank you so much brother." Makarov mumbled, "I really appreciate your help."

Hades nodded and stood up. He walked towards the door, an evil grin forming on his lips. 'fool.' he thought, 'it'll only be a matter of time before **I** rule as king.'

* * *

"Dead again." Jellal murmured, leaning over her body and holding her down on the ground.

"I wasn't ready."

He released her arms and stood up, "When you're fighting someone in real life, you won't have time to react." he explained. In a flash, he pinned Erza back on the ground. "Its been a week and I still can't see any progress, Erza. You must focus and concentrate hard."

She nodded and he got off her. "again." he spoke.

Erza waited for him to charge at her. She blocked his incoming attack and jumped out his way, before charging towards him. Jellal turned around quickly and connected his sword with hers.

"Good. You're learning." he praised.

"Thanks."

He grinned and pushed her back. He hefted his sword, "come at me." he hissed.

Erza smiled and dashed towards him. He charged at her in response and parried her attacks.

Jellal suddenly lost his concentration. He paused, spellbound to her gorgeous smile. It was just like the sun, warm and tender. Put it together with the rest of her beautiful face. She looked like a goddess.

All of a sudden, he found himself lying on the forest floor, with Erza straddling his hips. She held her katana above his throat, grinning victoriously. "I win." she smirked.

He smiled, "well done." he whispered.

Erza rolled off him and he sat up. "Jellal?" she asked. "Tell me about your friends. Natsu and Gray."

"Natsu and Gray." He started. "They were the first friends I befriended when I joined the guild. On our first job together, they shared their past with me." He stopped for a moment to catch his breath, "Gray was adopted by Ur Milkovich and her daughter, Ultear, after his parents were killed by bandits. Ur took him in and raised him as his own, alongside his childhood friend. Lyon.

Erza nodded, wanting him to carry on.

"Ur taught them how to use weapons. Gray told me that Ultear was a great sister. And Lyon. Annoying. But, he still was a great brother. However, when Ur passed away. Gray came and joined Fairy Tail. While Lyon joined Lamia scale, and Ultear..." he trailed off, "I promised Gray that I won't speak of her."

"What about Natsu? He seems rather reckless."

"Natsu... His mother died when he was very young. So his father, Igneel, decided to raise him on his own." He paused for a minute. "Until Igneel disappeared and Natsu was left to fend for himself."

"Your comrades are strong." Erza said, "they're living life like nothing has happened. I really admire them."

"I'm lucky to be apart of their family." Jellal said, smiling.

"What about you?"

She saw his smile disappear and turned into a look of distress. His eyes flickered with fear. "I…" he stammered.

This man really is haunted by his past.

"It's alright." She reassured, placing a hand on his back "you don't have to tell me if it hurts that much."

Jellal looked at her, his eyes relaxing, "thank you for understanding." He mumbled quietly, "the scars of my past are too deep."

"I'm sorry to hear." She said, "at least you're not locked in a room everyday."

"That sounds terribly boring." He chuckled.

Erza watched him lay back on the grass, "Jellal?" She asked.

"Yeah?"

"What's your full name? I mean... You told me your name is Jellal. But what's your second name?"

"my full name is Jellal Fernandes." He answered.

"That's quite a mouthful."

"It is, isn't it?" He laughed, "what about you? Have you a second name?" He asked.

"No, I don't." She answered, "the royalties don't have second names."

Jellal sat up and pouted, "that's no fun." He grumbled, "How bout I give you one?"

Erza flushed red slightly, "you-give-me-a-second-name?" She asked, slightly shocked, "is that possible?"

"Yup." He replied, looking at her scarlet tresses. "You don't mind, do you?"

"Not at all."

"How about… Scarlet?" He asked, falling back on the grass.

"Scarlet?" Erza queried, lying down next to him. She watched him closed his eyes and inhaled sharply.

"Yeah. Scarlet, the same colour as your hair." He said, "That way, I'll never forget you. All I have to do is remember the colour of your pretty hair."

Erza felt her heart warm with those words, "Erza… Scarlet." She whispered out to herself. "I love it."

* * *

Jellal opened the door to the house, watching Erza step in.

"Jellal. About time you got home."

"Oh, Juvia." He said, alarmed by her sudden appearance "what's up?"

"I need to ask you something." She said seriously. "Something important."

"Sure." He replied, turning to Erza, "do you mind?"

"Not at all." She answered, walking into Jellal's room. Once she got in, she immediately pressed her ear on the door. Listening to their conversation.

"You know, don't you?" Juvia asked.

"Know what?" Jellal responded.

"What happened to dad."

Erza gasped and pressed her ear harder on the door. There was a long pause before Jellal spoke again.

"I kept it a secret from you two. I didn't want you to know."

"Jellal, tell me. I want to know what happened to him. It's been twelve years."

He sighed, "father was taken by the guards and then… executed…"

She heard Juvia fall to the ground. "No... Why Jellal? Why?"

"Shh… don't cry Juvia."

"Tell me why! Father was a great man."

"He assassinated the Queen."

Erza fell back on the floor. "No." She whispered out to herself. "No."

It just can't be.

She trusted this man. But, she never knew his father killed her mother.

Her breathing rapidly increased and she trembled with anger infused with terror, 'I should have known.' She thought to herself. A tear fell from her eyes, 'I thought I could trust him.'

She stood up distraughtly, "I need to get outta here." She whispered, looking over her shoulder. Her eyes locked on to the gun on the side.

* * *

Erza ran into the forest, wiping tears that leaked out her eyes. She trusted him. Maybe even loved him. But she knew he couldn't be trusted. He was an assassin.

A killer.

She stopped running and looked around. "Why Jellal?" She asked, more tears falling from eyes.

"Princess Erza." Said a voice.

Erza paused and looked up to see a brown haired man with tanned skin. "You..." she whispered.

"It's Azuma." He smirked, "it's really good to see you again."

Erza walked back slightly, "you were the one that kidnapped me." She stuttered.

"I'm surprised you still remember me"

"How could I forget?"

Azuma grinned and pulled out a gun, aiming it between her eyes. "Let's not make things difficult, shall we?"

Erza gulped and gritted her teeth, 'dammit... I had gun. Why didn't I use it?' She scolded herself.

"No more running. I'm getting tired. I prefer to kill you quickly."

"What do you want with me?" She questioned

"My master wants me to bring you back to him."

"I won't be much use to you dead."

Azuma laughed, "he said that I could either bring you back dead or alive. I rather bring you back dead, it makes my life so much easier." He explained, gripping the gun tighter, "Sayonara. Princess Erza."

Erza watched his finger pull back on the trigger. "Jellal." She prayed, closing her eyes "please, help me."

* * *

**Leaving it there for now.**

**Again, THANK YOU FOR REVIEWING! IT MAKES ME VERY HAPPY!**

**Until next time!**


	12. Chapter 12

**The first week of school is now over. Only 12 weeks left till my examinations. Time really is flying!**

**I'm sorry if this chapter is a bit... You know. It's the first time i've written one of these scenes and I suffer from tremendous writer's block.**

**I think i'm just going to be quiet now...**

**Here's the next Chapter. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 12: The truth**

* * *

Erza heard Azuma's evil laugh. Is this how her life is going to end?

"GET OUTTA THE WAY!" A deep, thunderous voice cried.

She felt someone forcibly pushed her out the way. The force was strong enough to make her fall to the ground. She heard the gunshot and then a loud, howl of pain. Her eyes immediately opened to see his black pants, boots and cape. His gray shirt, maroon tattoo and blue hair. His eyes were closed and teeth clenched in torment.

It was Jellal.

He groaned loudly and clutched the gunshot wound on his left shoulder tighter. Erza saw the blood starting to leak out between his fingers and drip onto the ground. "Jellal…"

He came and saved her again.

Azuma laughed maniacally, "Jellal Fernandes. What an honour it is to see you."

Jellal glared at him, "who are you and what do you want with the princess?" He snarled, staggering back due to the wound on his arm.

"My name's Azuma. My master ordered me to find and kill her."

"Over my dead body."

Azuma grinned, "since when did you start caring about her?" He asked, cocking his gun. "You're Jellal Fernandes. A cold-hearted assassin."

Jellal smirked and drew out a gun of his own. He winced, feeling the pain spreading throughout his body. "That was the past, Azuma." He grumbled, "Now. Put the gun down. Otherwise, I'll paint the trees red with your brains."

Erza reached into her pocket, finding that the gun she took with her was gone. How he manage to get the gun out her pocket, Erza will never know. She looked at the man before her. His left arm was slung around his torso. Despite the injury that was inflicted upon him. He was still standing, doing anything in his power to protect her.

"Tell me who your master is." Jellal interrogated, "why does he want Erza dead?"

"I'm afraid my master won't be very happy if I told you the reason why." Azuma replied.

"I'm sure your master won't be happy if I sent you back in a body bag."

Azuma laughed loudly, "You're a cocky one, aren't you?"

"'Cocky' can be one way to describe me."

"What if," he started, circling around Jellal, "I said you were like your father?"

Erza saw his eyes darken with anger, "You don't know my father." he hissed.

"of course i do. He assassinated her mother." Azuma grinned, pointing at the princess. "don't tell me you forgot?"

Jellal was filled with fury; his eyes watered with rage. He felt his temperature rise, as he stepped back and looked Azuma up and down with disgust. "Shut up."

"looks like I pulled a nerve." he chuckled, "But, what can I say? You're just like your father. Weak. Pathetic."

The veins on Jellal's throat stood out, the anger numbed the pain surging from his shoulder. "DON'T SAY A WORD AGAINST MY FATHER!" he cried, launching himself towards Azuma.

Before Azuma had time to pull the trigger again. Jellal slammed his gun on top of his head and kicked his gun away from him. Erza watched, bewildered. She realized that his sudden burst of aggression was incredibly awesome. Jellal pointed the gun towards his forehead, pulling back the safety switch, "Fuck you."

Azuma waved his arms helplessly, "wait!" he pleaded, "you won't an unarmed man will you?"

Jellal narrowed his eyes, looking at the guild mark on his arm, "Yeah, you're right. I won't." he said lowering his arm.

She quirked her brow in confusion, "huh?" she asked, watching Azuma's grin return. Jellal scoffed, rising his arm again.

"But, I kill people who try to hurt my friends and mock my father."

* * *

Juvia looked at a picture of herself, Jellal, Wendy and their father. She smiled slightly, remembering the stories he used to tell them.

Suddenly, she heard someone knock on the door. "Jellal, is that you?" She asked, walking out the room and opening the door. When she saw Jellal, she screeched and helped Erza support him in the house, "JELLAL!"

"Juvia, I'm sorry. It's my fault."

Jellal removed his arm from Erza's shoulder. "It's nobody's fault." He spoke, "Juvia, I need you to do me a favour."

"Anything."

"Go to the guild. Get Natsu, Gray, Levy, Wendy and Laxus." He ordered, "bring them back here."

"What about you? Are you gonna be okay? Tell me that you are!"

"Don't worry, i won't die. I'll take care of it. Please, go now. It's urgent."

Juvia nodded and left the house. Jellal stumbled into the living room, followed by Erza. "Erza, look through those shelves over there." He instructed "Find me a pair of tweezers."

Erza nodded and watched him enter the toilet. She peeped into the shelves and found what she's looking for. "Jellal. I've got it!"

She heard loud banding coming from the toilet, followed by a loud groan. "Everything okay in there Jellal?"

She turned around to see him standing before her. Shirt in one hand. Bandages, a cloth and alcohol in the other. Erza's face burned up as he stood, shirtless in front of her. She found herself gawking at his chiselled body. She's seen Gray shirtless countless times. But somehow, this seemed very different.

As he walked past her, the dim light shone on his broad, lean and muscular frame. His pectorals were well-built and firm. His defined abs only added to his flawless V shaped figure and slim torso.

His toned, strong arms trembled slightly and he dropped the first aid equipment on the floor. He collapsed on the sofa and grabbed a cloth close to him.

Now that his shirt was off, Erza could see the numerous scars on his body. She slowly approached him, and saw a jagged line running across the right side of his torso. On his left shoulder, she could see the fresh gunshot wound. "Jellal…" she mumbled, feeling a strange sensation in her stomach.

"Gimme the tweezers."

Erza was just about to give it to him, when she snapped out her daydream and realised what he was doing. "No."

"Why? Erza, I need to get this bullet out." Jellal reasoned.

"Lemme do it."

"But Erz-"

"I insist."

Jellal sighed and nodded, "fine." He murmured, "do it."

Gently, Erza placed a hand on his arm. He jolted slightly, startled by her sudden movement. She felt his muscles tense under her delicate touches. "Jellal, why didn't you tell me?" She questioned.

"Tell you what?"

"Your father. My mother." She replied, guiding the tweezers into his wound.

Jellal shuddered and groaned in pain. She quickly retreated and looked at him with worried eyes, "Jellal, I don't want to hurt you."

"No. Do it." He begged. "please."

"But-"

"No buts." He whispered, holding her hand and bringing it back to his shoulder, "please do it."

Erza gulped and nodded, "okay." She whispered back.

"Thank you." He mumbled, "the reason why I didn't tell you about my father, It's because he never done it."

"What? He's innocent?"

"Yeah. Always was. He never assassinated your mother." Jellal said, "it wasn't him."

"but... How do you know?" She asked.

He groaned softly as she pulled the bullet out his shoulder and placed it on the side. He took the bottle of alcohol, but two soft hand stopped him. "Let me."

Jellal felt his face heat up. "Sure." He breathed. He watched her as she gently dabbed his injury with a cloth covered in alcohol. Her fingers would sometimes gently brush his skin, sending ripples of electricity around his body.

"How do you know that your father was innocent?" She questioned, securing bandages on his shoulder.

"During the time your mother was assassinated. My father was at home with me. He was never at the castle."

Erza felt a wave of remorse wash over her. She ran off into the forest for no reason. Jellal was shot because of her misjudgment. His father was executed, although he was innocent.

Jellal noticed her face turned pale. "You okay?" He asked.

Her breathing started to get ragged. He saved her, even though she thought his father killed her mother. What was she thinking running into the forest without listening to the entire conversation? She could have got Jellal killed.

"Erza?"

She stood up, "I…" she stuttered. It was then when he saw her eyes glittered as she fought the tears that threatened to escape out her eye, "forgive me." She murmured, walking towards his room.

"Erza, wait!" He called, grabbing hold of her hand. He pulled her back with force.

She closed her eyes and felt her face crush on something firm, yet smooth. Hard, but warm. She could hear his steady heart beats drumming in her ear and his soft, feathery breathing.

Her eyes opened slowly, looking directly at his angular collarbone and the peak of his chest. Her heart stopped, realizing the position she was in.

She was sitting on his lap.

Her face rivaled her hair and she gulped, looking up at his golden eyes. He too was blushing.

"Erza." He whispered, "don't cry."

"I almost got you killed! You could've died trying to help me!"

Jellal gripped her thighs and pulled her closer to his body. Erza gasped at his movement. Her heart thumped loudly as she stared into his intense eyes, boring away at hers and felt the heat radiate from his anatomy.

"But I didn't die." He mumbled.

"I don't care!" She screamed, tears now streaming out her eyes. She ripped her gaze from his "I've seen enough people die for me."

He sighed and lifted his arm. He wiped the tears from her cheeks with his thumb and then turned her face. "Look at me." He ordered.

Erza's eyes met his. She saw such gentle, loving eyes. She couldn't believe that those were the same eyes she saw the night her father was almost killed. He smiled slightly, "you have such beautiful eyes. Don't make them red with tears."

She sniffed, placing her hand above his. "Promise me something."

"Anything, Erza."

"Promise me you won't risk your life for me. I don't want you to die." She pleaded, wrapping her arms around his neck "promise me!"

Jellal nodded, "I promise." He replied.

She pulled back and looked into his eyes again, "thank you."

His thumb gently wiped the remaining tears from her cheek. Suddenly the scarlet haired princess leaned closer and placed her lips on his. His eyes widened, surprised at first. But then, after coming out of his shock, he closed his eyes and returned the kiss.

She realized what she was doing and broke the kiss, dazed at her own action. Jellal licked his lips, tasting strawberries.

Erza coughed awkwardly, "I-I'm sorry... I didn't know what came to me." She said, her face turning crimson again.

"Don't be." He replied, "I didn't really mind."

He pulled her head down and pushed his lips on hers. At first, it was gentle, his lips just placed above hers. But as soon as she started kissing him back, he ran his tongue across her bottom lips, pleading for entrance.

Erza complied and opened her mouth. Without hesitation, Jellal quickly slid his tongue in and explored her moist cavern. She unwrapped her and placed her hands on his chest, desperately seeking his uncovered flesh. A rush of heat started in her stomach and slowly extended throughout her body.

Their tongues fought for dominance, and danced together. Her fingers circled the outlines of the scars on his chest. While his hands stroked her thighs, up and down. She couldn't help moaned softly into his mouth.

That small sound made Jellal's mind go haywire. He growled, pulled back and flipped them over. Erza lying back on the couch with Jellal hovering above her. They stopped for a minute, catching their breath. He winced slightly, feeling the pain on his arm return.

"Jellal, are you-"

"I'm fine. It doesn't hurt a lot."

He looked down at her. She was staring up at him, her eyes lidded with passion and dark with lust. "Erza…" he breathed. She pulled his face down and their lips melted again.

He pulled back and placed soft, feathery kisses along her jawbone. Meanwhile, Erza's hands went back to his well-built body. It travelled downwards and traced the dips between his abs. She felt his body shudder with pleasure. Her hands carried on exploring, moving down to his belt, where she slowly unbuckled them.

Alarmed by her abrupt movement, Jellal grabbed her wandering hands and pinned them above her head. However, immediately released it after feeling even more pain erupt from his shoulder. She looked at him, concerned.

"Jellal, are you sure you're-"

But she was cut off when he latched his lips onto the back of her ear. He trailed open-mouth kisses down her neck to and her collarbone. He grinned as he felt Erza squirming beneath him. She let out a breathy moan when his tongue darted out his mouth and glided across her collarbone.

"Jellal!" She groaned and tangled her finger in his lustrous blue hair, feeling him nip away at her skin.

All of a sudden, they heard loud impatiently knocking, coming from the door. He turned his head to the direction of the front door and then to Erza, who started blushing furiously under him.

Realization hit him hard.

He immediately got off her and stood up. "I'm so sorry! I wasn't meant to do that!" he said guiltily. His face was so red, his tattoo was virtually invisible.

Erza sat up and tried not to look disappointed. "T-that's alright." She mumbled, still a bit numb from their kiss. Truth was, she really enjoyed it. She saw a tremendous amount of remorse wash into his eyes.

"Jellal! You better not be dead!" They heard Laxus yelled from behind the door.

"You better answer it." Jellal spoke, massaging his forehead "I'm just going to get a shirt on."

"Okay." She answered, watching him head into his room.

If someone didn't knock on the door, things would've gone out of hand. She was flustered, still unsure of what just happened. All she knew was that, it was her first, and best kiss she has ever got. And she hoped it wouldn't be her last.

* * *

"Why have you brought us here, Jellal?" Laxus asked, looking at the bandages on his shoulder "And, what the hell happened to your shoulder?"

Jellal opened his eyes and looked at the people around him. Erza, Gray, Natsu, Levy and Laxus. "You may not know that an hour ago, Princess Erza was almost killed."

The living room was filled with idle chatter. Natsu stood up, clenching his fist, "I SUGGEST WE FIND AND KILL HIM!"

"SIT DOWN!" Jellal roared, frustrated. Natsu gulped and sat back down. "He's already dead." Jellal whispered.

"Then, why do you look so pale?" Gray asked, "you look rather stressed."

Erza turned to look at the blue haired man. Gray was right, he looked very stressed. Despite the fact that he was wearing a vest, his forehead accumulated a lot of sweat. He looked very uncomfortable, and like he was having some difficulty breathing.

"I'm fine."

"Why do you want us here?" Laxus questioned.

"They've returned."

"WHO?!" The group asked in perfect unison.

Jellal took a deep breath, "Grimoire Heart."

The room fell silent. Erza was confused, not knowing who Grimoire heart was. While the rest of them sat in fear.

Gray shook his head. "That can't be!" He disagreed, "they've been gone for years. Now, you're telling us that they've returned?"

"Stripper's got a point." Natsu justified.

"Jellal, you're probably in a state of depression. You must be see-"

"I'm not lying, Laxus!" Jellal snapped, gesturing to the gun on the table "See for yourself."

Gray shakily picked up the gun. He wiped the dirt and looked at the mark engraved into it. "no way." he gasped.

"Grimoire Heart has been dormant for many years." Levy stated, "what made them come out of hiding?"

The group looked at the scarlet haired Princess sitting beside Gray. "The Princess." Jellal answered simply. "Azuma told me that, they wanted the Princess dead."

"Why?"

"I don't know." He sighed, "Levy, do you know anything about them?"

She pulled out a book, "I know a bit." She replied. "It says here that: Grimoire Heart is a dark guild. The guild is made up of many other different dark guilds put together. Their objective is unknown and so is their Master."

"What do you purpose we do?" Gray asked.

"From now on, I want everyone to be more cautious." Jellal said, "I'm gonna to take the Princess back to Fiore."

"What?" Erza questioned, "I'm NOT going back."

Jella ignored her, turning to Laxus, "I want you to send a letter to the King. I'm sure he's already woken from his coma."

"What do you want it to say?"

"Tell em that I'm bringing the Princess back to him, But don't use my name. Refer to me as 'one of your most trusted men'. And that she'll be at Fiore by the end of this month."

"Listen to me Jellal!" Erza screamed, "I'm not going!"

"You have to." He argued, standing up abruptly. "I'm taking you back next week."

"No! You're not doing such a thing!" She contradicted, standing up and following him. "You're still injured."

"Okay, fine." He mumbled, "in two weeks."

"NO! I'm not going back, Jellal!"

He turned around and looked at her. His bronze eyes darkened with exasperation. Everyone swallowed hard and felt a sudden cold breeze in the room. Erza backed away from him slightly. Only half an hour ago, his eyes were tender and loving. Now, they were filled with frustration and resentment. "You're going back. No questions asked. End of conversation." He snarled.

"My father will lock me in my room!"

"Your father is only trying to do what's best for you! He wants to protect you!"

"No he's not! He's taking away all my freedom!"

"There is no such thing as freedom!" He growled, "Just because you can finally be away from your father, doesn't mean you're free. You can't run forever. You'll remember the reasons why your father wanted to protect you for all those years. All those thoughts will encase you and you'll never be free. You won't be able to escape it."

Erza felt sorrowful.

Was this the same man she was with half an hour ago? It didn't seem like it.

"You don't understand." She said bitterly, "my father-"

"of course I wouldn't understand! My father is dead!"

Erza was taken back. She didn't mean to make it sound like that. She could see tears well up in his eyes. She felt her heart ache and then sink to the darkest depths of her body. "Jellal, "she murmured, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"No." He grumbled, pushing her hand away from him, "leave me alone."

Erza felt kind of neglected, watching him push her away like that.

"Jellal!" Wendy and Juvia shouted, running towards him, "Where are you going?"

He paused and turn to them. The three girls stood in shock as a tear leaked out his eye. "Just leave me alone." he said, his voice softer.

He exited the house and slammed the front door. She turned to the others, their mouths wide open with surprise. They were initially shocked, since they never saw Jellal lose his temper like that.

She was just about to go after him, when someone placed a hand on her shoulder. She turned around and met Gray's soft navi-blue eyes.

"Don't." He mumbled, "it's best if we leave him be."

"He's crying." Wendy choked, turning to Juvia, who was shaking her head.

Erza sighed. She regretted bringing up her father in to this argument. Not knowing it would hurt him so much.

Things are now even worse than what she expected it to be.


	13. Chapter 13

**Thanks for all the reviews, I'm glad you're all liking the story.**

**Chapter 13: His past.**

* * *

A week has past since Azuma's death, and Hades is anxious about receiving bad new.

Zeref, Capricorn, Bluenote and Kain rushed into Hades' room, "Azuma's dead." Bluenote announced.

"IT'S BEEN TWO WEEKS SINCE I SENT AZUMA. AND NOW, YOU'RE TELLING ME THAT HE'S DEAD?!" Hades roared.

Bluenote bowed, "forgive us, your highness. We only found out about his death a few days ago."

"What be of the Princess?"

"Alive, sir." Zeref answered.

Hades let out a frustrated sigh, "you guys are pathetic." He grumbled, "I asked Azuma to kill her. And HE goes off and gets killed."

"Sir, what about the King? I thought we were gonna kill him too?" Kain asked.

The Prince looked at the huge, overweight man before him. "We mustn't worry about him. He'll be dead in a few months."

"What do you mean?" Capricorn questioned.

"When I gave Jellal Fernandes that gun. He didn't realise that the bullets were filled with this chemical that prevents the blood from clotting, so the victim dies of tremendous blood loss. For someone like the King, who got shot in the heart. The bullet will remain in his heart because the chemical will prevent his heart from healing, and it'll only be a few months before the bullet falls out and he enters a coma, which he will NEVER wake from."

"So the King dies either way?"

"Indeed. He'll die slowly, and painfully. Not even realising he's being killed from the inside." Hades smirked.

"It's a shame the bullet didn't kill him straight away." Kain mumbled.

Hades shrugged, "it doesn't matter. We were n't supposed to kill him. We were just meant to get rid of Fairy tail."

Suddenly, Simon rushed into the room. "The King's on his way here." He stated.

Hades looks to the others, "get outta here, you idiots!" He hissed. With that, Capricorn, Zeref, Kain and Bluenote scurried out the room.

Makarov entered, holding a letter in his hand, "Hades," he started, "I've left this letter in your room and yet, you haven't bothered reading it."

"I was busy with stuff. What does it say?"

"It says: a member of the fairy tail guild is bringing back the princess by the end of this month." He said, excitedly, "Erza's coming back!"

"Hmm. Very nice."

"This time," he said, "I'll be much less protective over her. I'll be a better father."

"Who is this 'member' that's bringing her back?" Hades asked.

"It doesn't say. It just says, 'one of my most trusted men." Makarov replied, "I need to praise this man! He's bringing my daughter back to me!"

"Interesting. How are you feeling?"

"I feel great! Polyusica said that my heart will be 100% healed soon." Makarov answered.

"No, it won't." Hades mumbled under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

Makarov nodded slowly, "I'll see you later brother."

Hades watched Makarov exit the room. "Bluenote," he called.

Bluenote rushed into the room, "yes your majesty?"

"Change of plans. I want you to find Erza. Don't kill her. Bring her back to me." Hades commanded.

"What about the person she's with?"

"Kill him."

* * *

**One week later...**

"Get in! You traitor!" Simon hissed, throwing Cobra into the prison cell.

"Cobra!" Lucy cried, scuttling towards him. She noticed his right eyes was gone. Leaving a large scar in its track. "Your eye."

Cobra winced, sitting up, "they're still looking for her." He said, "a member from Fairy Tail is bringing her back."

"I can't believe they're doing this. Erza doesn't know that it's dangerous here."

"I know. Hades wants to kill her in front of Makarov."

"He's sick." Lucy spat. "How could he do this to its own niece?"

"It's weakness." Cobra replied, "we have to warn her."

"But, how? We can't just get up and leave."

"No, we can't. But, I can act as a distraction and you can sneak past the guards."

"You'll get killed!" Lucy argued.

"That's a risk I'm willing to take." Cobra murmured, "as long as Erza is safe. I don't care if I get killed, as long as my sacrifice is worth it."

"Cobra..." Lucy whispered, "I don't know the way there."

"Follow the crossroads. That'll lead you to Crocus."

"But-"

Before Lucy could continue, Cobra stood up and ran to the entrance of the cell. He used his handcuffs to suffocate the guard and then take his key. He opened the cell and pushed Lucy out, closely following her.

"Don't forget. Follow the crossroads."

"I'm just a maid. I can't."

"Don't say that." Cobra whispered, "if there's a will. There's a way."

"OVER THERE! PRISONERS!" The guards cried.

"LUCY! GO NOW!" Cobra bellowed, "ERZA NEEDS YOU!"

* * *

The sun began rising from the nearby hills. It painted the sky and trees with a vibrant shade of orange, scarlet and yellow. Erza sat on her bed and admired it. The view from here seemed a whole lot better than the view from the castle.

"Erza?"

The princess turned to see Gray leaning against the door frame. "Good morning." He greeted.

Erza smiled and turned back to the window, "Hey." She murmured.

Gray walked in and sat next to her. "You're going back today, aren't you?" He asked.

"Yeah..." she sighed, "going back to Fiore."

"To rule as Queen?" He asked half-jokingly.

The two laughed and she punched him playfully on the arm, "Hell no!" She grinned.

She stopped smiling and he noticed, "why the sad face?" He questioned.

"It's Jellal…"

"He's been avoiding you, hasn't he?"

She looked at him, "how do know?"

"You used to be close and now, you're barely with him." He explained. "But, it's Jellal. What do you expect?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"He's a difficult man to understand. Once you get to know him, you'll understand why he's like this."

"So, you don't know him?"

"Of course I do! He's my best friend."

"You told me that you didn't know anything about him and his past? You were lying to me, weren't you?" Erza asked.

Gray sighed, "I had to! I promised him I would."

"Who else knows?"

"Just Me and Natsu." He answered, "But Erza, you have to understand. His past is like nothing I've heard before. I won't be surprised if he doesn't tell you."

"Why can't you tell me?"

"It's not my story to tell." He whispered, "ask him next time he sees you."

"He's a difficult person to find." She stated, "it's even harder now that he's avoiding me."

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door and Jellal poked his head in the room, "mind if I come in?" He asked.

Gray smirked, "sure." He answered, "it is your room."

Erza watched him enter the room. He stood beside door, looking out the window, "I'm sorry if I was interrupting something." Jellal apologized.

Gray chuckled, "no. You're alright." He said, "I was just saying goodbye to the Princess." He took her hand and kissed her knuckles one last time, "Farewell, Erza. Hopefully, I'll see you again someday."

"The world is a small place." She mumbled, "I'm sure this won't be goodbye."

He nodded and stood up. "Be careful."

"Gray, wait." Erza called. Gray turned around and she threw her arms around his neck. He wrapped his arms around her waist and returned the hug. "Don't forget me." She murmured onto his neck.

"Don't worry, I won't." He replied, releasing her. He turned to Jellal, "take care of her."

Jellal nodded, "I will." He responded, watching him head out the door. He turned back to her and the two stared at each other for a while.

She could tell he hasn't slept for a while. His bronze eyes were ringed with fatigue, the dark colour around his eyes were evidence of his restlessness.

He held out his hand, holding out a gun of his own, "this was the one I took from Azuma."

"Thanks." She said, taking it from his hand.

"This was Juvia's" he said, pulling out a dagger belt, "she doesn't really use it, and I thought you might want it. For protection"

Erza looked at the belt in his hands. "Sure." She answered, taking it from him, "where do I put it?"

Jellal picked it back up from her hands, "allow me." He knelt down in front of her and gently lifted her skirt slightly, so that her left thigh was visible.

She felt her face burning. Not because of where his face was. But, the fact that his fingers were brushing the sensitive skin on her thigh. She bit her lip, feeling his hands securing the belt.

"There." He said, standing up and looking at her crimson face.

"T-thank you." She stuttered.

He looked back out the window, "we best be on our way now." He spoke.

"I'll get the horses ready."

"No." He said quickly, "we're not using horses."

"Why not?"

"Their galloping will be easily heard and will compromise our location." He explained, "I'm not in a rush to get you home. I need to get you back safely. That's what's important."

Erza nodded, attaching her katana on her back, "okay." She agreed, "Let's go."

* * *

After saying her farewells to the Wendy and Juvia. Erza and Jellal started their journey back to Fiore. They didn't speak at all and it was very quiet. She looked up at Jellal, who had one hand on his gun. Ever since their first kiss. She wondered if Jellal kissed her back because he felt the same way she did. Or, if he did it out of lust.

After a few hours of walking, Erza started to feel slightly tired. Jellal noticed her starting to slack behind him and stopped. "You okay?"

"Yeah. Just a bit tired."

He looked around, "This place doesn't look that bad." he said, "We can stop and make camp. Carry on again tomorrow."

Erza nodded, "I'll get the firewood."

"No. I'll do it."

"but, you can't do all the work." Erza argued, "I don't want to look like a sitting duck."

"You won't." he answered, "Just sit back and relax."

After collecting the firewood, Jellal took out a box of matches and lit one up. He threw it on the pile of wood and watched the fire slowly starting to rise. Erza saw him reach into his pocket and pulled something out.

A cigarette.

She watched him as he lit it up with the fire. "When will you stop that disgusting habit?"

"What disgusting habit?"

Erza gritted her teeth in anger, stomped towards him and took the cigarette from his mouth, "This disgusting habit." she hissed, throwing it into the camp fire.

"That was my last one!"

"Shame."

Jellal narrowed his eyes, "What is your problem?" he asked bitterly.

"What is YOUR problem, Jellal?" she questioned, "You can't mope around and smoke for the rest of your life!"

"I smoke for a reason. A reason you will NEVER understand."

"Because of your past. Am i correct?" she queried, "If it hurts that bad. You must tell someone about it."

"I don't want to." He admitted, turning his face away from her "I try my best to forget it... But, the scars. They don't heal."

He felt a soft hand on his face, he opened his eyes to meet Erza's. "The reason why they don't heal is because you keep it all to yourself." She explained.

Jellal sighed and shoved her hands away.

"Stop being so negative!" She said, frustrated, "what happened to the Jellal that taught me how to sword fight?"

"That Jellal is no more." He murmured.

"You can't just let yourself suffer like this."

Jellal kept his mouth shut and didn't say a word. Suddenly, she raised her arm and slapped him. He felt a sharp pain on his cheek, followed by a stinging sensation.

"What happened all those years ago that hurt you so much?" Erza asked, "why do you avoid other people?"

"That's none of your business."

She let out a frustrated growled, grabbed his black cloak and slammed him on a tree. "I don't care of it's my business or not! It's not only affecting you, but me too!"

"I'm not saying anything. Besides, I don't see how it's affecting you."

She gripped his cloak tighter, "you were avoiding and ignoring me for the past two weeks. That's what's been affecting me." She said through clenched teeth.

Jellal watched her released his cloak and turn away, "I can't be with someone I don't trust. I shared my past with you and yet you didn't share your's." She mumbled, "I'm heading back to the guild and find someone I DO trust."

"Wait..."

"What?" She asked.

He pursed his lips and looked down, "I'll tell you..." he whispered, turning away from her, "you might want to sit down.

Erza obeyed him and sat back on the forest floor, "I'm listening."

"I was born in Magnolia, 21 years ago. My father was General Siegrain. He was the King's most trusted advisor and his best friend. My mother was Grandeeny, she was also a good friend of the king's." He began.

He walked over to her and sat down, "When I was Four, my mother gave birth to Juvia. All was well. Until the war broke out, between the neighbouring countries 2 years later." He paused, recalling the painful memories.

She saw tears sparkling in his eyes and his lips began trembling, "My father was out fighting the war. Magnolia was attacked by the soldiers of the opposing country." he stopped again, looking down at the floor. "They came to my house and found me, Juvia and my mother."

He turned away, his back facing her, unable to look her in the eyes and carry on. "They held me down and made me watch," he sobbed, "as they brutally raped my mother and abused my sister. All I could hear was my mother's horrendous cries." He whispered, closing his eyes. He shuddered as he heard his mother's cries, resounding in his head.

"She was pleading. No, Begging for them to stop. Juvia was almost killed, and she was only two years of age. And my mother..." he stopped talking, his words slowly melted.

"All I could do was watch helplessly. I couldn't do anything about it." He weeped and buried his face in to his hands, "When my father came back. Words couldn't even describe the pain he was in."

"Oh my..." she whispered, placing a hand on his back. Her heart throbbed when he turned to look at her. His eyes were red with tears, and filled with nothing, but sorrow and emptiness.

He looked so afraid.

"Two years past and my mother fell pregnant again."

"With Wendy?"

Jellal nodded, "yeah..."

Erza winced, predicting the words that'll come out his mouth.

"Because she was raped so..." he stopped and cringed in revulsion, "mercilessly." He spat. "It affected her so much, she passed away giving birth to Wendy." He stood up, "I'll never forget the grief in my dad's eyes. He tried to be brave. But like me, the scars inflicted upon him will never heal."

More tears welled up in his eyes and his vision blurred due to it. "A year after that... My father was accused for a crime he never committed. The royal army came to my house and arrested my father."

He cried out in anger and slammed his fist onto tree. "I was telling then he as innocent..." he whispered. "But they didn't listen to me."

Erza stood up and held his shoulder. "Jellal, I know your father is innocent." she reassured.

"After that... Me, Wendy and Juvia were on the run. We were taken by these people and forced to work as slaves." he continued, more tears falling from his eyes, "Juvia and Wendy were often bullied and I was always fighting with the other children. Beating them up and then being punished for it."

He lifted his shirt and revealed the large scar on the right side of his torso. Erza reached out and brushed her fingers on it, "That's terrible..." she whispered.

"There's more." he murmured, taking hold of her hand. He guided her hand to his back. Her eyes widened in shock, looking at the whip marks and a large gash meandering across his back. "I didn't see this before." she gasped, running her hands across his warm, scarred skin.

He sighed and then carried on again, "Few months later... I found a way out and we took off, back to Magnolia." he explained, "There's where we joined Fairy Tail."

He finished, turned around and looked at her. He quivered and fell to his knees."Erza." he rasped, falling forward. He was so overwhelmed with emotions, he felt weakened.

She caught him before he could hit the ground. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into an embrace. "I was…" he whispered, "I was a terrible brother. I was always keeping away from my sisters. I broke all the promises I made to Wendy."

"Jellal," Erza whispered, "Think about the good in your life."

He pulled back his head, "What good?" he asked, pushing Erza away from him, "I've done nothing good in my life. All I did was kill and hurt countless people. Mentally and Physically."

"But Jellal-"

"Erza, I'm the reason your father was in a coma." he reminded, "I've never done anything good... I just wish i could turn back time and fix everything i've done. But i can't."

Erza sat, unable to say anything. She never would have thought his childhood was this bad.

"This is why I'm better off on my own. Nobody to hurt. Nobody to kill." he finished, leaning against the tree. He shook his head and wiped the remaining tears away, "I hope you're happy now… I told you my past."

She looked at him, shocked at the things he just told her. At first, she tried to convince herself that it wasn't true. But, it was ALL unmistakably true. She felt sorry for him, wishing she never asked him about it.

"Oh Jellal..."

* * *

Lucy galloped into the forest with several guards hot on her tail. She kicked the horse's side, urging it to go faster.

She looked at the darkness ahead of her and narrowed her eyes. "Erza." She whispered, "I'm on my way."


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: For those of you who were PM-ing me when the lemon is. It's the next chapter.**

**I was thinking about making it a one-shot. But, then i thought... nah, might as well put it in this story. Righ?**

**Chapter 14: A game of life or death**

* * *

The sun shone brightly the next morning. Erza felt the warmth of the suns rays, kissing her face and groaned. She pulled something over her head and sighed, taking in Jellal's musky scent.

Her eyes shot open, feeling something warm surrounding her. She sat up and looked at the black cloak wrapped around her body. She sighed and remembered what he told her last night.

She stood up and looked around. She found that Jellal was nowhere to be seen. "Where'd he go?" She asked herself, wrapping his black cloak around herself.

From a nearby tree, Erza heard a twig snapped. Slowly, she made her way to it, "Jellal, is that you?" She whispered.

Once she reached it, she saw nothing there. All of a sudden, she heard the voices of several men in the distance. Thinking one of them was Jellal, she made her way to them.

She was immediately stopped when a strong arm snaked its way around her hips and pulled her against something hard yet warm. The person used his other hand to cover her mouth, preventing her from screaming out loud. Erza began squirming in his arms, unable to break free.

"Erza, stop moving." The person hissed, "they'll hear us."

She recognised the familiar voice and relaxed in his powerful arm. "Jellal." She mumbled into his hand, trying to slow her rapid heart beats.

Jellal pressed her closer to his body as the voices became louder. She could hear his heavy breathing in her ears and felt the grip on her hips and mouth tightened.

The other men stood on the opposite side of the tree, "did you hear that, Bluenote?" One of them asked.

"You're hearing things Kain." Bluenote answered, looking at the dying flame, "they were here. But, it looks like they left a few minutes ago."

Kain looked at the tree a few feet away, "or, they might still be here."

He walked up to the tree and studied it. Cautiously, he walked around the circumference of it, hoping to find what he's looking for.

Jellal closed his eyes and listened to his footsteps carefully. He moved away from Kain every time he took a step towards them, trying his best not to make any noise. 'Please, just go away!' He pleaded mentally.

Kain scoffed and turned back to Bluenote, "nothing here!"

"Get your ass over here then!" Bluenote called, "we can't just waste our time doing nothing!"

Kain headed back to Bluenote and the two disappeared into the trees. Jellal breathed out a sigh of relief and slowly released the princess.

"That was close." He whispered.

"Who were they?" Erza asked.

"They were members of Grimoire heart." He answered, "but, how did they know I was taking you back? Laxus only sent the letter to the King."

"I don't know…"

He shook his head and massaged his temples, "this means that they'll probably be scouting the area." He explained, "as a consequence, the journey to Fiore will be even more dangerous."

She felt an uncomfortable sensation in her stomach and fell back on a tree, "what now?" She questioned.

"We'll go to a village nearby." He stated, "we can hide out there for a few days."

"Where are we going to stay?"

"There should be a hotel somewhere in the village."

"How would we know if it's safe?"

"Villages are usually safe" He reassured.

Erza nodded, trusting his decision. "Okay." She answered, holding out his black cloak, "here... Thank you."

"Keep it." He whispered, "it looks better on you."

* * *

Lucy blinked looked around. Her eyes locked onto a pink haired man sitting opposite her, poking a flame. She tried to think about what happened last night. But, all she remembered was her being surrounded by Hades' men and then blacking out.

She sat up, alerting the pink haired man, "woah, easy my lady." He said.

"What happened?" She asked, "I can't remember a thing."

"I found you surrounded by these people." He explained, "then, you blacked out. Of course, I couldn't just leave you on your own."

"Thank You." She said, standing up "I'm sorry to sound rude, but I must be on my way."

"Where are you off to ma'am?" He asked, "You must have been on a rush.

Lucy looked at him, "don't call me that. It's Lucy." She mumbled, "I was on my way to Fairy Tail."

"Fairy Tail?" He questioned, "what business do you want with Fairy Tail?"

"I seek their help."

The pinkette smiled, "In that case. I'll be glad to help!" He said, revealing the guild mark on his arm, "I'm a member of Fairy Tail. My name's Natsu."

She grabbed his shirt, "take me to your guild!" She pleaded, "I'm looking for Erza."

Natsu looked at her, "Erza?" He asked, "the princess?"

"Yes. I need to know where she is."

"She was at the guild." Natsu answered, "What is it you want from her?"

"She's my best friend." she replied, "I need to talk to her. It's urgent."

* * *

Natsu took Lucy back to the guild with him. Once they arrived, everyone cheerfully welcomed him back.

"Where's Gray?" Natsu asked.

"I'm here, Flamebrain." Gray said, waving his hand to get his attention, "about time you got back."

"Gray, Where's Erza?"

"Don't you know where she is?" Gray questioned, looking at the blonde beside him, "who's your friend?"

"This is Lucy." He introduced, "She's a friend of the princess."

"Where is she?" Lucy asked, "is she okay?"

"Of course she's okay." Gray said, "She's with Jellal."

"Wait a minute." Natsu mumbled, "You mean she's..."

"Gone." the black haired man finished, "Jellal has taken her back."

"No." Lucy gasped, "That can't be."

"What are you talking about?"

"The princess and your buddy." She whispered, "They're walking into certain death."

Somehow, the entire guild heard this, "WHAT?!"

"Prince Hades." Lucy hissed, "He's the leader of Grimoire Heart. He wants Erza and the King dead."

"What about Jellal?" Juvia asked, joining the three, "What will happen to him?"

"Hades will kill him too..." Lucy whispered, "Just like all the other people who tried to help her or the King." Her eyes watered as thought about Cobra. Natsu, feeling guilty, pulled her into a tight embrace.

"Laxus," Gray called, "what do we do?"

The blonde haired man slammed his cup onto the table, causing everyone in the guild to face him. "Prince or not, this man is going to kill two members of our guild." he growled, "I won't allow them to do this to MY family!"

Everyone in the guild roared with determination. Lucy was intrigued at their bravery.

"Wakaba." Laxus called, "Gather the other guilds, tell em that Jellal and the Princess are in danger."

Wakaba nodded and left quickly.

"If they want a war." Laxus bellowed, crushing his glass "Then, so be it!"

* * *

It was just past midday when Erza and Jellal arrived at the village. She looked at the blue haired man, worried that he might just suddenly collapse out of exhaustion. He hasn't slept for over a week and the state he's currently in, has raised her concerns for him

"We got her faster than I thought." He stated, "if I'm correct, there should be a hotel over there."

The two entered the hotel and saw a person standing behind the counter.

"Um. Hi." Jellal greeted, "can I have a room please?"

The women turned around, "yeah, sure." She said, looking at the scarlet haired princess behind him, "here. That'll be 4000J for the two of you."

"I'll pay." Erza said, reaching into her pocket.

Jellal grasped her arm, "No. I'll pay."

He took the key from the woman's hand and replaced it with some money, "thanks." He replied, turning to Erza, "Let's go."

He opened the door and looked around. It was pretty big, with a large double bed in the middle of the room, a small table, a sofa and a balcony.

"You take the bed." He said and headed to the sofa, "I'll get the sofa."

"But Jellal-"

"Erza, it's fine. I'm used to it." He interrupted, "I sleep on the sofa all the time."

She watched him collapse onto the sofa and got into his usual laying down position. Arms folded behind his head and a leg slung over the back rest. "You better get some rest too." He spoke.

"I think…" she mumbled, "I'll take a bath first."

She sighed as she stripped off her clothes and went into the bath. She thought about the blue haired assassin. Ever since their kiss, he's avoided her feelings for him and kept his distance from her. After an hour she got out and got dressed. She walked out the bathroom and looked Jellal. His face was calm and innocent. Not showing any pain or emotions.

As quietly as she could, she walked over to him and gently caressed his face. Her fingers tracing the unusual tattoo on his face. She smiled when he leaned towards her soft touches. Without thinking, she placed a kiss on his cheeks.

* * *

The next morning, Erza and Jellal walked through the streets of the village. "You hungry?" He asked, "Let's get breakfast."

"Yeah sure."

"Where shall we eat?"

"I don't really mind." She replied. She turned her gaze and it locked onto a sign that said 'best Strawberry cake in the whole world.' Instantly, Erza grabbed his arm and dragged him into the restaurant, "we're eating here. End of story."

The man standing at the door smiled at them, "what can I do for you two?"

"Can we have a seat please?" She asked, looking at Jellal, whose eyes were narrowed at the man.

He nodded and took them to their seats, "what would you like to order?"

"Your best Strawberry cake, please."

Jellal didn't say a word and kept glaring at the waiter. He felt Erza kick him under the table, and looked at her, "what?!" His eyes spoke.

"Order something, or I'll kill you." Her eyes replied.

"Coffee. Two sugars, no milk." He said through gritted teeth. Erza kicked him again, and he sighed, "…please." He finished.

The waiter nodded and left. Erza looked at the bluenette, "What's wrong with you?" She asked, "you looked like you was about to murder him."

"He's suspicious."

She scoffed, "just relax, Jellal." She mumbled, "you did say this place was safe. So, we can trust him."

The waiter returned and Jellal narrowed his eyes again, "Trust must be earned." He whispered, watching the waiter placed their food and drink on the table. "Enjoy." He said, before leaving.

Erza quickly grabbed her fork and stabbed the strawberry cake, tearing off a piece. Jellal stared at his coffee, watching it go cold. He looked back at the princess and grabbed her arm, stopping her from shoving the cake into her mouth. "What?"

"Let me try it." he mumbled, "i don't trust it"

"the cake?"

"The waiter!" he grumbled, "let me be the first to eat it."

"No!" She snapped, "it's mine."

Jellal impatiently took the fork from her hand and ate the cake on it. She watched him angrily as he chewed on it. "You..." she snarled, standing up, "I'm gonna go to the toilet."

He watched her storm off. When she was out of sight, he spat out the cake, "how the hell could she eat this?" He asked, waiting for her to come back.

Ten minutes have passed and Erza was still hasn't returned yet.

Feeling a bit suspicious, he stood up and headed to the toilet. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain on the back of his head and then, he was taken into the darkness.

* * *

Jellal opened his eyes, to find a bag over his head. Out of the blue, someone forcefully pulled it off his head, making him twist his head to the side. He squinted, adjusting his vision. He was sitting at a table with a dim light above it.

"Where am I." he said out loud.

"You are in the storage room of the restaurant."

Jellal looked up at the person sitting opposite him. He instantly recognised him as the waiter from earlier. "You son of a bitch."

"You're not the only person here."

All of a sudden, an overweight man came in to the room, holding an unconscious Erza with a large cut on her arm, "I've got her, Bluenote."

"Erza!" Jellal cried, "What have you done to her?"

"Don't worry." Bluenote assured, "She just passed out."

" Why didn't you kill me? What do you want with me?"

"I'm not that kind of a person who kills for the sake of it. I'd rather play a game." he said, "That's, if you're up for it."

"I don't have time to play one of your silly little games!" Jellal barked, "i have better things to do."

"You have no choice." Bluenote sniggered, "Deny it, and my friend, Kain, over there will kill her. Try to pull a sneaky move, and my friend will kill her"

"Fine... I get the point." Jellal hissed, "How do I play?"

"It's simple really." He started, "It's a game of pure luck."

"Luck?"

Bluenote placed a revolver on the table, "First. we use this. There will be one bullet in the cylinder." he elucidated, "I spin the gun on the table, whomever it lands on has to pull the trigger against their head. If the chamber is empty, the process repeats. The game doesn't end until one of us is dead."

"Dead? What kind of game is this?"

"It's called: Russian Roulette. A game of life or death." he clarified, spinning the gun "Whoever win doesn't just walk out alive. But, they get the princess."

The gun pointed at Bluenote. "Me first." he chucked, pressing the muzzle against his head. Jellal watched him pull back the trigger. The gun clicked and Bluenote grinned, placing it back on the table. "Again."

This time, the gun pointed at Jellal. He shakily reached for it and pressed it against his temple. Closing his eyes, he pulled back on the trigger. Feeling it clicked on his head. After he exhaled sharply, he placed the gun back on the table. He felt the sea of anxiety deep down starting to pound against his stomach. 'Erza.' he thought, looking at her. Unfortunately, she was still unconscious.

Time ticked by incredibly slowly. Every minute felt like an hour. Jellal thought he's been playing the game for several hours. But, only 30 minutes have past by. He felt anxious, not knowing which turn would be his last. The only thing that could be heard in the room was his ragged breathing and the clicking of the gun.

Bluenote sensed his discomfort, "What's the matter?" he asked, pulling the trigger again "you look scared."

"I'm not scared," Jellal mumbled, watching the gun point at Bluenote again, "I just want the princess to be safe."

"You're not doing a very good job now, are you?"

Jellal grinned, "I am if i'm risking my life for her." he countered.

The dark haired man smiled, feeling the chamber suddenly ticked in his hand, "Fair enough." he said, spinning the gun.

The gun aimed at Jellal. He narrowed his eyes, and analysed it closely. He slowly lifted it up, finding that the front of the gun was heavier than the back. In the dim light, he manage to see that there was bullet reloaded in it. He turned his gaze to the overweight man holding Erza. His face was only a few centimeters away from hers.

He turned back to Bluenote. He wasn't holding any weapons on him, judging by his confidence. He must also think that Jellal was a fool. Not knowing that he knew whether a gun was loaded or not. Jellal mentally laughed at his ignorance. He was THE legendary Jellal Fernandes. A man of many talents.

"What's the matter Jellal?" He asked, "Cat caught your tongue?"

The bluenette pressed the gun to his forehead, "Just thinking."

Bluenote tried to suppress his laughter, "about your death?" he asked, still unaware that Jellal knew about the loaded firearm.

"not exactly."

"What then?"

"YOUR death." Jellal answered. In a split second, he stood up and extended his folded arm. Without looking, he pulled the trigger back and the bullet hit Kain right. He fell back, releasing Erza.

Before Bluenote could do anything. Jellal vigorously threw the unloaded weapon at him. The power of his throw was enough to break his nose and knock him out.

Swiftly, he made his way to the princess. He dragged Kain's corpse away from her and knelt. He secured the cut on her arm with a section of Kain's black cape and was just about to leave, when Bluenote kicked Jellal aside.

"You're a smart man."

Jellal regained his composure and stood up, "I've been in many situations similar to this. I know how to get out alive."

"We'll see about that." Bluenote snarled, launching himself at him. His broken nose caused his vision to blur. Giving Jellal the advantage.

The blue haired assassin stood aside. He quickly face him, threw a punch that connected with his chin and sent him flying over the table. He pulled out his handgun from his pants and pulled the slide back.

He approached the black haired man and crouched beside him. He punched him with enough force to wake him up, "Who's your master?"

Bluenote spat in his face, "Screw you."

Jellal stood up and stepped on his hand. Bluenote howled in pain and grasped his fractured fingers, "Wrong answer." Jellal said blankly, "I'll ask you again; Who's your master?"

"I'd rather die than tell you."

He shrugged, and directed the gun to his face, "Be careful what you wish for."


	15. Chapter 15

**Hey everyone! I didn't expect myself to finish writing this chapter so quick. I didn't even know if i would be able to update this week. But, i manage to pull through my writer's block and now, i present you with the lemon!**

**Don't be too critical about it please. It is my first lemon and i found it really difficult to write.**

**Enough of my speaking. Here's the next chapter!**

**Chapter 15: Letting go **

* * *

Erza opened her eyes and sat up quickly. She remembered Kain knocking her out cold, hearing his threats echoing in the depths of her mind. She winced and looked down at her arm, finding it neatly wrapped in clean bandages.

Her eyes focused on the sofa, and there she found a lonely figure in the gloom. At first glance, he looked like a statue, his slightly tanned skin glowing with perspiration, and his cerulean hair sparkled in the dim moonlight.

Suddenly, he looked up at the scarlet haired women. His eyes were filled with worry and grief. Pain and anguish. They were also red. Red with tears. Erza looked at him, baffled.

For he had saved her again.

"Erza," He mumbled, wiping away his tears "you got me worried for a moment."

"Jellal, why are you crying?"

The blue haired man looked at her momentarily, before turning to the door, "I'm heading out."

Erza swung her legs to the side of the bed, and stood up. "Where are you going?"

To her annoyance, he ignored her and carried on making his way to the door. Not bothered to answer the princess' question.

"JELLAL!" Erza barked.

He turned to look at her. Her eyes were burning with anger and confusion.

"Where are you going?"

"Erza, I'm going out to get something to eat."

"Liar." She hissed, "you always were a bad liar. Tell me the truth."

Jellal stared at her, and then turned away, facing the door again. "I'm sending a message back to the guild."

"Why?" She asked, "what if they find you? I can't watch someone I love die before me!"

He paused, realizing what she just told him. "That's EXACTLY the reason why." He sighed, unable to face her, "you'll be better with Gray or someone else. Not me."

"No! I don't want you to to go!" She begged, "why do you want to leave?!"

"It's probably a better idea. I'm no good."

Erza grabbed his arm, "I'm not letting you out this room, Jellal Fernandes!" She screamed, ignoring the pain from her injured arm "you're not leaving until you tell me the truth!"

Frustrated by her stubbornness, he turned them over and pinned her to the wall. "You really wanna know the reason why?" He asked sourly, "it's because I'm a fool. An idiot."

She felt his grip on her loosened. His eyes filled with remorse and sadness. The same sadness from before. The sadness she thought disappeared. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm in love with someone I should never had fallen for…" he confessed, "the one person I've hurt most in my life."

"You saved me three times!" Erza reminded, "you've atoned for what you've done, and I forgive you."

"You can't just, forgive me straight away…"

"I can, Jellal." She stated, "forgiveness is the key to happiness. And, you're no idiot, if the person you fell in love with has fallen for you too."

He released her and turned away, "that only makes things harder."

Erza watched him head back to the door. Her body was suddenly filled with anger and frustration. "Why can't you just forgive yourself and move on? Why can't you just accept my love for you?"

"I won't be able to forgive myself if I let myself love you." He sighed, "I don't deserve you. You're a great person, Erza. I'm just, not worthy."

"You ARE worthy! You've proven to me that there is still light within that heart of yours."

"You must be looking at the wrong person."

Erza gritted her teeth in frustration, her heart now shattered, "fine!" She cried, tears falling from her eyes, "I'm sick and tired of you punishing yourself and pushing me away!"

Jellal looked at her, his eyes widened "Erza-"

"Shut up!" She roared, "I don't want to hear another one of your pathetic excuses! I don't care if you want to leave. Just get outta h-"

But she was cut off when Jellal crushed his lips against hers, abruptly stopping her sentence. She stiffened slightly and didn't reacted. She only moved when she felt him pushing her back against the wall.

Before she could kiss him back, he pulled away. Much to her disappointment. "What did I tell you about crying?" He asked, wiping her tears away, "there's a reason why I forbid myself from accepting your love."

"What, Jellal? What is it?"

"Also, you're a Princess," He mumbled sadly, "I'm an Assassin. I've killed people in my life."

"I don't care." She acknowledged, "that was in the past. Right now, we're living in the moment."

Jellal closed his eyes, "the past is too hard to overcome."

Suddenly, he felt a soft hand cup his face. His opened his eyes and met hers. "Let go of it." She whispered, "The past is done. You can't go back and change it. However, you can lift your head up high, and look to your future."

"The future doesn't seem bright." He stated, "mine is shrouded in darkness."

"That's what you think." She mumbled, "we are what we choose to be."

Jellal's eyes widened. Those were the exact same words his mother uttered before she passed away. Why does he keep fighting a war that cannot be won?

"Promise me you'll let it go. Do it for me."

"For you. Anything." Jellal spoke softly.

Erza leaned forward and pressed her lips on his. As she wrapped her arms around his neck, and their bodies melted, she could feel him pressing her against the wall. The gap between them completely closed.

He slid his hands down her curves and to her thigh. Swiftly, he hoisted her up and wrapped her legs around his hips. After a few minutes, Jellal broke the kiss, so they could catch their breaths. He looked into her dark brown eyes. "Your eyes. They're so beautiful."

Erza blushed, her face almost the same colour as her scarlet hair. She looked into his bronze eyes, which darkened with lust and she shivered at the intensity of them.

"Are you okay? You're shivering." He asked, remorse returning in his eyes, "I really shouldn't do this…"

"No. Don't stop." She pleaded, "I want this. I want you."

"Erza. It's wrong for me to do this to you."

"I don't care." She whispered, "just this once, accept my love for you."

He looked at her for a moment. Her longing eyes pleaded him to let her love him. He took in her sweet scent and directed his lips to her neck. Gasping softly, Erza closed her eyes in rapture as Jellal trailed kisses down the side of her neck, feeling her pulse quicken as he went.

The blue haired man ran his tongue along her collarbone and then back to the base of her neck. She tilted her neck and gasped when his teeth brushed on a sensitive spot, sending a wave of electricity around her body.

The small sound caused him to gently bite down on her neck, retrieving another. He divulged her neck with kisses, before maneuvering his lips to her earlobes. He tugged gently at. A moan escaped her mouth as a tingling sensation ran through her body. Jellal smirked on her skin. Wanting to hear it again, he nibbled along it. Earning a louder moan.

He met her with a kiss that melted in her mouth. He slowly backed up to the bed. Carefully, he placed her down and climbed on top of her, his warm tongue slipped into her mouth, luring her to join come and join him. She groaned in pleasure, almost oblivious that he already started unbuttoning her blouse.

Her eyes shot open and she jolted slightly. Sensing her discomfort, Jellal immediately retreated his hands.

"Oh. Sorry about that. I didn't mean to." He mumbled, "If you want me to stop-"

"No. I wasn't really expecting that…" she whispered nervously, turning her gaze. She bit her lips and turned red again "it's just that… It's my first time."

Jellal chuckled softly and caressed her cheek, enjoying the smoothness of her soft skin. "Don't worry. I'll be gentle." He replied, "you're not the only one."

She turned back and smiled at him. She pulled his head down and their lips met again. His hands were unbuttoning her blouse. She broke the kiss and sat up, allowing him to remove it. The assassin threw her shirt away and pushed her back down.

He admired her as the silver moonlight seeping through the drawn curtain of their room, portrayed on her smooth skin. Illuminating the surface of her curvaceous body, with the strap of her black, silky lace bra enticingly draped off her bare shoulder.

The princess moaned and dug her hands into his silky blue hair as she felt him raining butterfly kisses all over her stomach. He moved up and trailed his warm tongue between her breast, causing the scarlet haired women to groan out in pleasure.

His hands travelled to her back and unclasp her bra. The princess arched her back, making it more easy for him to remove the article of clothing.

The scarlet haired woman saw his mouth opened slightly, and his pupils dilated completely. Feeling embarrassed, she averted her gaze from him.

"Don't be shy." He murmured, running his fingers across her cheek, "you look amazing."

She turned back to him, a small red tint to her cheeks. Shyly, the scarlet haired women sat up, reached out and grasped the hem of his shirt. "About time you took something off." She chuckled, pulling his shirt up.

Jellal smirked and lifted his arms. The princess pulled off his shirt and discarded it somewhere in the room. Her eyes wandered back to the bluenette's lean body. Her alluring hands sliding all over his bare, muscular chest. She moved down to trail the dips between his well-defined abs and then lower to his perfect v-cut. His whole being quivered with wanting and he grunted loudly.

He captured her lips again and pushed her back down on the bed. Erza kept wanting to be closer to him after he had rescued her from Grimoire Heart's' clutches. She remembered his past, the amount of pain he was in and how much it hurt him. She pulled him closer and then hence, shoved the memories into the darkest corners of her mind.

The assassin left her swollen lips and ran his hand up her hips, across her stomach and onto her breast. He cupped one breast, feeling its fullness beneath his palm, and then squeezed it gently.

"Jellal…" Erza gasped. "M-more."

The blunette obeyed her and began massaging her flesh, relishing its softness. Erza moaned under his touch when both of his hands kneaded her soft mounds.

He retreated his hands and trailed open mouth kisses down her collarbone and then to her chest. His tongue glided across her soft mounds, teasingly avoided the sensitive pink nubs.

"Jellal!" Erza whimpered, disappointed by his teasing. He smiled and removed her hands from his hair, pinning them both above her head with ease.

He trailed the tip of his tongue around her nub and felt her gasp. 'Sensitive there' he thought with a smirk as he ran his tongue around the pink spot again. He was rewarded with a sharp, ecstatic breath. His tongue drew another circle on the rim of the pink spot before taking the whole center into his mouth.

She cried out and arched her back from the bed. Hard, shameless moans escaped her lips as she felt his tongue flicked her bud and his other hand rolled her nub between his thumb and index finger. An electric sensation speared right through Erza, causing her cheeks to redden.

He left her chest and moved down to the hem of her skirt. He kissed her navel and let go of her hands. He reached for her skirt and looked up at the princess' flushed face. His eyes bored away at hers, asking for her permission.

Erza nodded and watched him slowly remove her skirt. He threw it on the ground with the other clothes and looked at her matching underwear. She screamed when he lovingly kissed the moist fabric. Taking a deep breath one more time, he let his mouth drag across her soaked panties.

Swiftly, he removed her remaining clothing and threw that carelessly on the ground. He saw her suddenly averted her gaze from him. He could tell that she was uncomfortable.

"Erza, It's okay. " he mumbled, "Trust me."

"I… I trust you, Jellal."

He smiled and leaned down to her womanhood. He looked up at her as she leaned back on the bed.

Suddenly, her head shot up and her toes dug onto his back. "Jellal!" She yelled, her cheeks still in a hot shade. She gripped the sheets hard and let out a long moan as she felt his warm mouth brush her soft folds, then darted his tongue out to lick her soft bundle of nerves.

She yelped, gripped the sheets harder and arched her back against the bed. Her head kept turning from side to side as Jellal continued his teasing. She felt something build up within her. The bluenette gently slid a finger into her warm entrance. The princess gasped as he thrust his finger in and out of her. "When it starts to hurt. Just tell me." He breathed, inserting another finger. He could feel his manhood pulsing with need and tried to ignore the discomfort from his pants.

Adding a third finger, he felt her walls become more resistant. She gasped in pain.

"Crap. Sorry." He whispered. Erza smiled at him.

"The pain fades relatively quickly."

He pulled his fingers out, unable to ignore the discomfort from his throbbing member. "I can't take this anymore." He mumbled.

She nodded and pushed the bluenette up. She placed her hands back on his chest and moved them down. The princess felt his strong, corded muscles under her soft hands. She would trace the outlines of each individual scar she came across, before reaching his belt.

Slowly, she unbuckled his belt and unzipped his pants. She pulled it down, freeing his pulsing manhood. She gulped at the sight of it.

Jellal nervously turned his face away as he found her staring at his length. His cheeks reddened and now, it was his turn to be embarrassed.

She found him very adorable. For a man who could laugh at the face of his enemies or even death itself, finding him embarrassed like this was really rare. He never looked like a person who would become uneasy. He was always brave, fearless and carefree. But, deep down, he's the same as her. Embarrassed about the situation.

She brushed her fingers on his cheeks, "no need to feel embarrassed, Jellal." She reassured, "you just have to trust me. Do you Trust me?"

"Of course I do." He replied. The princess smiled and attacked his lips. She pulled him down with her and he found himself on top of her again.

She hesitantly reached up and stroked his member. The bluenette growled into her mouth, which encouraged her to wrap her fingers around it. She was intrigued at how warm and hard he was under her touches. He moaned when he felt her hand sliding up his manhood.

He pushed her hand away from him, "if you keep teasing me like that, I definitely won't last very long."

The assassin positioned himself in front of her entrance and looked at her. "This will hurt at first." He stated, "but, I understand if you don't want to do this."

"No, I want to do this."

"There's no going back after this."

"I don't care." She mumbled, "I don't want to go back. I want you."

He grabbed her left hand and rested them at the sides of her head. He leaned down to her ear, and whispered gently, three words that finally opened up his heart. Three words that at long last, exposed his true personality: "I love you."

"Jellal…" she whispered. "I love you too." For the first time, she could look into his eyes and find it not filled with sorrow. She could finally see into his heart to find that all his scars had been healed.

She saw the tenderness in his eyes, and couldn't be any happier. To see the the man who once struggled, now freed from his darkness. Her heart melted at the great affection in his soft, powerful voice. She sighed in contentment at the words that he had expressed to her for the first time.

As carefully and gently as he could, he pushed himself into her. She cried out in pain and gripped his shoulder with her right hand. A few tears leaked out the corner of her eyes as she tried to adjust.

Jellal kissed her tears away, "don't cry." He murmured, resting his forehead on hers, "I'm right here."

Erza nodded and took in choppy breaths. He waited patiently for her pain to diminish, he kissed her softly, attempting to distract her from it.

Finally, when she time had adjusted to him, he pulled out slowly and pushed into her again, taking each thrust slowly and carefully. He watched as the pain gradually disappeared from her face and was quickly replaced with pleasure.

"Go faster!"

He gladly obeyed the princess and picked up his pace. A loud cry of pleasure escaped from her throat as he slid in and out of her.

"Jellal, I-"

A loud moan tore its way through her throat as she tried to finish her sentence. She wrapped her legs around his waist, and pulled him close, wanting to feel him even more. The skin to skin contact was electrifying for her. Once Erza met his thrust, Jellal snarled loudly and pumped into her harder.

She moaned in satisfaction as the heat bubbling inside her core started to become more and more out of control. Waves of intense pleasure started to consume, her bit by bit.

Their breathing became more erratic as they begin to approached their climax.

"Jellal!" She moaned loudly, "I'm... Close!"

He quickened his pace in order to reach his own climax, "Erza…" he purred, "Fly with me..."

She shuddered, feeling her walls contacting rapidly around him. She pulled his head down and the two desperately tried to glue their lips together. Their tongues fighting in a heated battle of flesh against flesh. She trembled as she felt the fire in her core almost reaching its peak.

Suddenly, her hands tightened on his shoulders, she arched her back, pushing her breast into his chest, her breathing changed to short gasps. He felt her legs tremble and she screamed into his mouth as she released the tension. "JELLAL!"

He felt her walls clamp down tightly on him and her hips bucking. Jellal's whole being shook. He reached his peak and saw stars, crying out as he spilled himself inside her. He tried to hold himself up. But, their exertion drained nearly all his energy and he collapsed on her. He nuzzled her neck.

They stayed like that for a while as they regained their regular breathing pattern. The princess watched with heavy-lidded eyes as Jellal smiled and pulled out of her. The two already missed the contact.

He fell on to the space next to her. "That was amazing." He breathed.

The princess snuggled closer to him and placed her head on his chest. "It was, wasn't it?"

Jellal pulled her closer, enjoying the softness of her skin on his. He threw the sheets over them and looked down at her, "I might go and sleep on the sofa."

"Jellal…" she murmured on his chest, "stay."

The bluenette smiled. He wrapped an arm around her waist and stroked her hair with his other hand. He closed his eyes, feeling the darkness close in on him, "don't worry. I'm never leaving your side."

"Good."

"Erza, " he whispered, trying to fight off sleep, "I love you."

The princess yawned and drew patterns on his chest, before closing her eyes and drifting off, "I love you too." She whispered back.

The two drifted off to sleep, their arms wrapped around one another. Never wanting to let each other go.

* * *

***gulp* How was it? It's probably really bad... I never realised lemons were this tricky to write. **

**I'm just going to hide under my blanket and die of embarrassment now...**

**I'll see you all next time! **


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: I'm incredibly sorry for making you all wait... I've been in and out of hospital for the past few days and it was very stressful. But now, i'm okay and everything has returned to normal (Almost Normal)**

**I'm glad you all liked the lemon, so i decided to put another one in. I still think my first one was terrible.**

**Chapter 16: No regrets**

* * *

Erza opened her eyes and looked at the moonlight seeping in through the drawn curtains. It was still night time. Despite not wearing anything, she felt incredibly warm, snuggled in Jellal's powerful arms. Her head was resting upon his chest and her legs intertwined with his.

She lifted her face and looked at the blue haired man, who was sleeping soundly, for the first time. His eyes were closed and the usually saddened look he had on his face was gone. She reached up and traced his tattoo with her thumb.

He mumbled something in his sleep and leaned towards her touch. Suddenly, he wrapped his arms tighter around her body. She listened to his tranquil breathing and calm heart beats. And soon, found herself falling asleep.

* * *

Makarov and Simon strode through the empty hallways. The King sighed and thought about Erza. He missed having to find her when she runs off into the forest. He missed having her by her side. And most importantly, he also missed her scarlet tresses.

"Any news of Erza yet?" He asked, looking up at Simon.

"Not yet."

Makarov looked around the hallways. It never used to be this quiet. The atmosphere in the castle was very tranquil. It seemed like a totally different place. A ghost town.

They entered the throne room, and Makarov was stunned to see many different people he's never before, standing beside his brother.

"Hades?" He questioned, "who are these people?"

Hades chuckled and looked at the several men standing before him. "These people," he started, "they're my men."

"Your men?"

"Yeah." He answered, "my new commanders, advisors and soldiers."

The King looked at the men suspiciously, "what happened to Cobra?" He asked, "Lahar? Doranbolt?"

The Prince stood up and laughed, "I must have scared them away." He smirked, gesturing his arm, "if you don't mind."

Suddenly, Simon and another guard grabbed the King's arms, "Simon?" He queried, "what the hell's going?!" Makarov demanded.

Simon cracked a smile and turned to Hades, "I don't serve you anymore."

"You traitor..."

"Your services aren't required anymore, little brother." Hades mocked, "from now onwards, I am King."

Makarov struggled against their grip, "Hades!" He screamed, "what about Erza?!"

"Don't worry. She'll be back." He grinned, "take him away."

"You can't do this!"

Hades scoffed, "oh little brother," He sneered, "I just did."

Simon and the guard dragged him to the dungeons. The Prince grinned as he heard Makarov screaming. Demanding to be set free.

He smiled and sat down on the King's throne. The throne that rightfully belonged to him. "It's good to be back on the throne again."

Zeref approached him and bowed, "sire," he began, "Bluenote and Kain are dead."

Hades' eyes widened, "both? Including Azuma?"

"Yes sir."

"Hm. It's pretty obvious who Laxus sent to deliver the Princess." He stated, "A smart man he is."

"Jellal Fernandes, sir?" Zeref asked.

"Yes." Hades answered, "I can't risk losing any more men. We're dealing with a cold-blooded killer. He's so good, you won't realise he's there until it's too late."

"He's experienced?"

"Precisely." He agreed, "Let's just wait for them. I can't risk losing any more men."

"But waiting isn't fun." Zeref countered.

"I rather wait for them, then lose my entire army to one man." Hades explained, "when they arrive, they'll be in for a surprise."

* * *

Jellal suddenly opened his eyes, feeling Erza shift away from his chest. Waking up beside her was something Jellal had never thought of doing. He had to pinch himself to make sure he wasn't in a dream. A sigh escaped his throat and he sat up.

He was still in daze at what happened last night. Her body beneath his, sliding against one anothers. Him inside her slik warmth. For last night, Jellal made love to the princess and nevertheless, felt extremely guilty about it. Memories of the events that took place last night washed over him, followed by a wave of remorse.

He swung his legs over the side of the bed and buried his face into his hands. "What have I done?" He asked himself. Suddenly, he heard the rustling of bedsheets and then a pair of arms wrapped around his neck.

"Jellal." Erza murmured on his skin, nuzzling the crooks of his neck.

"Erza…" he whispered, closing his eyes, "I'm sorry."

"What for?" The scarlet haired woman asked, confused.

"Last night," he answered, "I never should have done that to you."

"Jellal, last night was amazing." She mumbled, "Please, don't feel guilty about it. The reason why I didn't regret it, is because I love you, Jellal."

"I was just afraid." He admitted, feeling the princess press her chin on his bare shoulder, "I don't deserve to be with someone as perfect as you."

"Nonsense," she whispered, planting a kiss on his neck, "you saved my life, Jellal. And I am forever in your debt."

The ultramarine smiled, feeling reassured by her words. They stayed like that for a moment before Erza unwrapped her arms from his neck and stood up from the bed. Jellal watched as the scarlet haired women walked towards the bathroom, her hips swaying from side to side.

"Where are you off to, Princess?" Jellal asked, not being able to tear his gaze from her uncovered body.

Erza turned to face him, narrowing her eyes at the use of the word 'princess.'

"I'm taking a shower. I feel sticky."

Before she could turn around, Jellal took hold of her hand. She found herself in awe again, staring at the full view of his naked body. "Let's take one together." He suggested.

"T-together?" She stammered. She tried to rip her eyes away from the pale outline of his lean, magnificent form.

"Don't tell me that you're still embarrassed from last night." He teased.

"I'm not embarrassed!" She countered, "I just-"

The bluenette grinned cheekily and pulled her to the bathroom with him, "let's go then."

* * *

The princess pulled back the curtain slightly and stepped into the bathtub, followed by the assassin. She turned on the water and immediately turned away from him so her back faced him. Jellal took hold of the soap and lathered it in his hands.

"Jellal?" she asked.

"Yeah?" he replied as he ran his hands down her back.

Her eyes closed for a moment and she bit her lip. "Do we have to go back?"

The ultramarine laughed, "Of course we do. Your father is waiting for you. He probably misses you a lot. Don't you miss him?"

"Of course I do." She replied, "it's just..."

"What? Just what?"

"Why can't we stay here and grow old?" She questioned, "I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

"As do I, Erza." He confessed, "but, your Kingdom needs you."

She sighed as his hands glided over her smooth back. "I forgot I was a Princess..." she mumbled, "I can't lead a country."

"That's not true." He argued, "you'll be a great Queen."

Smiling at that last comment, Erza felt his hands slowly sliding down towards her legs. "You think so?"

"Not think. I know so." He grinned, gently pushing her body into his, so that his chest and her back were touching. His hands slid from his back to her stomach and then, down to her waist.

He gently went upwards and massaged her neck and shoulders. She hummed and tilted her head towards him. His fingers slid over her collarbone, while he nipped at her earlobe

"Jellal…" She moaned, encouraging him to sink his teeth into her sensitive skin.

His hands travelled up and stopped when he got to her chest. He cupped it, feeling its fullness as it fitted perfectly in his hands.

She gave a moan as he squeezed it gently.

"Jellal…." she purred.

The assassin grinned as he shook his head to get rid of the water from his blue bangs.

"Mmmm." he hummed onto her neck, his lips brushing her soft skin. He pressed her face first against the cold shower tiles, making her shiver with anticipation.

"Erza, I'm for hurting you last night."

"It's natural Jellal." She said, fed up with his constant apologise.

"Perhaps I could make it up to you?" He asked, pressing his lips to her ear.

She shuddered, hinting the slyness in his voice. The water continued to run along them, creating small rivers on their bodies.

Feeling the temperature rise slightly, Jellal turned the water colder. "Jellal," Erza shivered, "the water's cold."

"It'll be warm soon. So don't worry." He murmured, before pressing against her harder and going for her neck, biting down gently and creating a mark on it.

He ran his tongue along her shoulders, loving the sound of her whimpers escaping her mouth.

She gasped as his hand slid between her legs before lightly gliding his fingers over her womanhood.

He quickly pushed one finger into her causing her to spasm slightly and cry out again.

He groaned at the heat and tightness that surrounded his finger. He desperately wanted to be inside her so badly. He quickly added another finger and began to pumping them in and out of her slowly.

"Jellal!" Erza barked, "f-faster!"

"As you wish, my princess." He answered, picking up the pace.

Her hips began to move along with his fingers. His thumb brushed against her soft bundle of nerves causing her hips to buck forward and for her to moaned out in ecstasy.

"Please." she choked out, trying to hold herself up while Jellal continued his rapture.

The water ran down along them. He continued to thrust his fingers into her, while he kept his thumb at her bundle of nerves and pressed down on it.

She gave a cry and thrusted downwards onto his fingers. He felt her walls clamp down around his fingers and she screamed loudly as she reached her peak.

He slowly slid his fingers out of her and spun her around. One arm around her, holding her up and feeling her body twitch slightly.

She goaned and leaned her head against the wall. She opened her eyes at him and smiled, "you sure know how to please a woman."

"Only you, Erza. Only you." He chuckled, pressing his lips on hers. The kiss started slow and steady. But soon, their tongues came together and fought for dominance.

He pressed his body closer to hers and she felt his tip pressing against her stomach. The princess reached down and gently grasped him, making him growl into her mouth. She smirked and teasingly slid her hand up his throbbing member.

He hissed and grabbed her hands, roughly pinning them on the wet tiles with one of his hands. He pressed his lips to her ear, "I don't like being teased." He justified, releasing her hands.

He slid his hands down to her backside and squeezed it gently, earning a soft moan. He then grabbed her legs and slung them around his hips, positioning himself in front of her again.

The scarlet haired princess squirmed with impatience, "Jellal," She whined, "hurry up."

He pushed himself into her slowly and chuckled when he heard her gasp loudly. He pressed her back against the tiles and held her securely on the wall as he began to thrust inside of her. She moaned and gasped as Jellal began go harder and faster. She then bit her bottom lip when the assassin lowered his face and caught her sensitive pink nub inside his mouth. He gently held it between his teeth and massaged it with the tip of his tongue.

Erza yelped in surprise. She gripped his shoulders and then ran her hand through his thick, wet, cerulean hair, "oh… Jellal…"

She then began to make move with him as he continued to lick and suck at her tender nubs. He brought his lips away and moved to her other one. He kissed, sucked and nipped at it as he shoved himself inside of her and groaned as she moved with him.

He could feel her walls convulsing around him as he continued to pick up his pace. "JELLAL!" She screamed, reaching her peak again. Her heat and tightness brought him right over the edge and he too, cried out as climaxed.

They were both panting as they came down from their heights. He slowly slid out of her and supported her so she won't fall over. Her legs were still shaking from their previous session. "You okay?" He asked, trying to hold back a laugh.

"I'm fine." She murmured, before collapsing on him. He quickly caught her and the two stood under the shower, "just, tired."

* * *

"Laxus, we've Sabertooth, Lamia Scale and Blue Pegasus all agreed to join allies." Gray spoke, looking at the blonde.

"Good." Laxus replied, climbing off his horse, "hopefully, we could get there before The Princess and Jellal do."

Lucy turned her attention to the sun setting behind the distant hills, "the sun's already setting."

The pinkette narrowed his eyes, "if only we knew sooner... Hades, that son of a bitch."

Gray stopped and looked around, "this is gonna be difficult." He murmured, "only Jellal knew the way back."

"Shit…" Natsu cursed.

"Don't use such foul language in front Lucy!" Gray scolded.

"Make me, ice princess!"

"Come at me, flame brain!"

"SHUT UP!" Lucy roared, surprising the two males, "we won't get anywhere if we argue!"

"Aye!"

Warren looked at the signs upon approaching the crossroads, "hmm… we're still so far away." He sighed, "Magnolia isn't even on the signs."

"What now?" Bickslow asked.

"I'm not giving up." Gray mumbled, "Jellal helped up and led us to Crocus when the King's men were after us. Is time for us to return the favour."

"The kid's right." Laxus agreed, "we're gonna keep going until we find them."

Natsu turned to Lucy, who was sitting behind him, "we're gonna find them." He said softly, "and Hades is gonna get a good old fashion beating with my fist."

Lucy gripped his torso tighter and buried her face into his back, "I hope so..."

* * *

**Well, a much shorter chapter from me, and i am very sorry for making you all wait...**

**I'll update 'Remember me?' on Saturday or maybe Sunday.**


	17. Chapter 17

**I am sooo sorry for making Y'all wait for more than a month for this chapter! Gomenasai! I was too caught up on my other story!**

**Well, here's the next chapter! I hope you all enjoy it!**

**Chapter 17: Farewell...**

* * *

_"I want to run away with you, Erza. Where there's only you and I..."_

"Hey, how much is this?" the princess asked, holding up a sheath for her katana. The sheath was made with gold, decorated with polished diamond and amethyst.

"That would be 25000J, young lady." the shop keeper smiled kindly. She turned to the masked man behind her; who was hovering around the shop. "Sir, would you like to buy anything?"

"I'm just looking." Jellal's voice was muffled by the bandanna over his mouth.

"Actually," Erza spoke, handing her some money, "He's with me."

The woman nodded, "Have a nice day."

"You too." the scarlet haired woman turned away, grabbed Jellal's arm and left the shop. "Do you really have to wear a mask over your face?"

"Yes," he grumbled, "I have to."

"Why?" she asked, "Why would you want to hide such a handsome face?"

The bluenette turned his face from her; feeling his cheeks redden, "We're in Fiore." he reminded, "I'm a wanted criminal."

"Yeah, but no one will recognize your face."

"They will."

"No they won't."

"Yes they will, princess."

"Hey!" she punched his arm lightly, and smiled when he pretended it hurts. "Don't call me 'princess!'. I don't like being called that."

"I was just teasing you." he chuckled, "Your reactions amuse me."

"Really?" she raised a brow, "How?"

"You're cute when you're angry."

"I- i am?" she asked, blushing a deep shade of red.

"Very." he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her towards his body, "Once we get to the gates of the castle, we must part ways."

"What about your reward?"

"I don't need one." he looked down at her, "Meeting you was probably one of the best rewards i have ever had."

"Jellal," she clutched on to his shirt, "I want my father to see how amazing you are..."

"Erza," he stopped walking and faced her, "I can't."

"Why, Jellal?"

"I tried to kill your father." he bowed his head in shame, "I'm as good as dead if i walk into that place."

"But you're trying to atone for what you've done." she cupped his face, "You've bought me back to Fiore, safe and sound."

"They still think my father killed your mother. Add that onto the fact that I almost murdered the king; they definitely want me dead."

"Look, Jellal." she said sternly, "They're not going to kill you. They can't kill a man I love." she assured him, "I'm sure my father won't be very happy if they did."

"good point..." he turned his head from her, and looked around; feeling slightly uneasy. "I don't know why. But, Magnolia seems rather... different."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know... It just doesn't seem like Magnolia." he described, "The atmosphere used to be very subtle. Now, it's rather tense."

"Hm... yeah." the princess agreed. "I wonder what's going on."

"They must really miss their princess." Jellal joked, looking a small poster on the wall.

"Probably." she stood next to him and looked at what he was staring at, "What are you looking at?" The ultramarine didn't say anything, but continued to stare at the poster. "Jellal?" she nudged him, "Are you okay?"

He reached up and ripped the piece of paper from the wall. "Who's this?" he asked, showing her the image on it, "Who is this man?"

"He's my uncle."

Jellal stared at it with disbelief, "Your Uncle?" he questioned, "seriously?"

"yeah."

"What's his name?"

"Hades."

* * *

"Sire." Zeref bowed before the man sitting on the throne; his black hair gleaming in the sunlight, "Princess Erza and Jellal Fernandes have been spotted in the city of Magnolia."

Hades sat up on his throne and smirked, "About time." he sneered, "I wondered when they'll return."

"Shall we move in on them?"

"Naa..." the King shook his head, "Why waste my men, when we could just ambush them when they get here?"

"Sir?"

"When they return, I'll have the pleasure of getting rid of Jellal." Hades took off his crown and looked at his face on the reflection of it, "Then, i want Erza to watch him die, before killing her in front of her own father."

The black haired man nodded slowly, "Of course, your majesty..." he bowed again, "What about Doranbolt?"

"They're not really a problem." he placed the large golden crown upon his head, "Just because he escaped, doesn't mean that he'll be able to survive out there. He'll probably be dead within the hour."

"He's probably already dead."

"Yeah." He laughed, "How's my brother doing?"

"He's still alive."

"He'll be gone by the end of this month." the man grinned, "At long last.. the throne is finally mine." he ran the tip of his finger across the armrest of the throne, "I was meant to be next in line for it. But my parents decided to give it to my baby brother; Makarov."

"It's that why you dislike him?"

"Dislike?" he repeated, "I HATE him. He took the throne that was rightfully mine! _I _was meant to be King!" he roared, "Now that i'm king, I won't let anything stand in my way! Fairy Tail is out of my way, So is my brother!"

"I'm sure you'll be a better king than him, Sir." Zeref murmured.

"My brother was pathetic." Hades mocked, "He was too soft on the others. Like when the queen was murdered and Siegrain Fernandes was convicted. He didn't want to execute him! I was the one who forced him to do it!"

"Why didn't he?"

"Siegrain and my brother were great friends... He knew he didn't kill the queen."

"He didn't?"

"Of course not!" Hades yelled, "Siegrain? Killing the Queen? That's crazy!"

"Who killed her then?"

"It was-"

"Hades." Simon interrupted, "Twilight is fast approaching and we still can't track down Doranbolt."

"leave him," Hades massaged the bridge of his nose, "He's no use to us anyway..."

"What about Lahar?" The brunette asked, "What should we do with him?"

"Kill him."

* * *

"Erza?" Jellal turned to face her, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah.." The princess murmured, feeling her legs beginning to ache.

"You look tired." he stopped walking, "Do you want me to carry you?"

"No..." she stopped and fell back on the ground. "I'm exhausted... we've been walking all day."

"Let me carry you." he swept her off her feet; carrying her bridal style.

"Jellal!" she cried, wrapping her arms around his neck, "If you carry me, You'll get tired too!"

"Fine." he placed her back on the ground, "Let's stop here for the night."

The princess sighed with relief; glad that she'll be spending another night with the man she loved. "Okay."

"I was wondering..." the bluenette whispered, "Can you tell me more about what happened to your mother?" she looked up at him; her eyes suddenly filled with agony. "But, you don't have to. I was just curious..."

"No..." Erza whispered, "It was just an random question... i didn't expect you to ask..."

The ultramarine scuttled over to her and wrapped his black cloak around the two. "I'm sorry for asking."

"Don't be." she smiled at him sweetly, removing his mask, bandanna and silver forehead protector. She cupped his cheek, tracing his tattoo with her thumb, "If you want to know what happened, I don't mind sharing."

"Are you sure?" he asked, leaning his head towards her touch, "I don't want you to feel uncomfortable."

"It's fine.." Erza murmured, "It happened on my birthday..." she sighed, removing her hands from the assassin's face, "My mother was speaking to the guest, i was alongside her..."

"What happened after...?"

"Before i knew it.. I heard the ping of the bowstring..." she closed her eyes, feeling hot tears stream down my face, "The arrow killed her instantly... I couldn't do anything to stop it!."

"Shh..." he hushed softly, wiping away the tears, "It's not your fault, Erza."

"I just miss her so much." she sobbed, burying her face into his well-defined chest, "I'm still in doubt that she's gone... It's been more than a decade."

"She's not really gone, Erza." he ran his fingers through her scarlet hair, "She might no be here with us. But, her memories will continue to live on for evermore."

"They will?"

"Of course.." he pulled her back and tapped her chin, "Look up for a minute."

The princess looked up at the night sky, the black sky was covered with a velvet of darkness; filled with tiny diamonds, sparkling with lights of hope and love. "Jellal, The sky's beautiful here."

"Hmmm." the assassin hummed, "When my mother died, I was devastated..." he explained, "Then, my father told me this: Every star up in the heavens are the souls of the people we love. They watch over us, protect us, guide us."

"That's sweet.."

"And, I've proven that theory to be true." he laughed, "The stars always guide me home when it's dark."

"How?"

Jellal took her hand and pointed it to the brightest star in the sky, "That star: It's called Sirius, also known as the Dog Star. It's the brightest star in the night sky." he smiled at her, "The star faces due north. And, the apartment we were staying in faces the south. So, all i have to do is face away from the star."

"That's really clever. I never knew stars were that helpful." she leaned on his shoulder, "What else do you know about stars?"

"well, a group of 'em are called; Constellations."

"Show me one."

"Over there." he pointed at a bundle of stars, "Ursa Minor; also known as the large bear."

"What else?"

"Hydra; also known as the serpent. Hydra is the longest constellation in the night sky."

"That's really interesting.. How did you come to know all this?"

"My father taught me." he rested his cheek on the top of her head, "I loved learning about the night sky..."

"Can you show me more?"

"It'll be my pleasure."

* * *

Gray looked up at the night sky, "Natsu," he murmured, "where the hell are we?"

"We're at the borderline of Fiore." the pinkette replied, "Sting and the rest of Sabertooth have suggested that we keep moving."

"I think that's a good idea. I mean, Jellal and Erza are probably almost at the castle." he spoke softly, "I really hope they're okay..."

"Don't worry, we'll get to them." Natsu pulled out a packet of cigarettes and offered one to Gray, who gladly took one. "I'm sure we will."

"Why the hell would Hades do this to his own niece?" the raven haired man asked, puffing out some smoke. "That's just cold and inhumane."

"He's probably just a snob who's jealous of Erza becoming queen."

"He's a fucking bastard. Trying to kill Jelall and Erza numerous times."

"He'll pay for what he did..." Natsu growled, crushing his cigarette in his hand, "I'm gonna make sure he suffers so much pain."

"You're not the only one." he hissed, "That bitch thinks he could mess with family..."

"Gray! Natsu!" a voice called. The two turn around to see a blonde haired man with a scar on the right side of his forehead run towards them, "We just found one of Makarov's men!"

"Lead the way, Sting."

Sting nodded and turned back around, heading back into the forest, "Over there."

Natsu looked at the man lying on the ground; he had a large cut on his forehead, his shirt was torn, revealing the gashes on his torso, and his black hair was covered with blood. "Sir?" the pinkette asked.

"I'm looking for Fairy tail..." the man twisted his head to the side, showing off the large scar on the left side of his face. "You're friend and the princess... They won't survive a second in that castle."

"What the hell are you-"

"Doranbolt!" Lucy cried, "What the hell did they do to you?"

"That's not the concern right now... Hades has upped his game. He's not gonna let Jellal or Erza live."

"What about the king?"

"He's been arrested, and now, he can't do anything..."

* * *

"well, we're here.." Jellal sighed, looking up at the large stronghold.

"Yeah.." The princess' voice cracked at the end.

He turned to face her, "This is where we go our separate ways..."

"Jellal..." Erza sobbed, throwing her arms around him, "I don't want you to go..."

"Erza, I have no choice..." he whispered, "I'm sorry.."

"Please.."

"As much as i want to, Scarlet." he pulled back, "I can't..."

"Just promise me something..."

"Anything..."

"Promise me that this isn't goodbye!" she begged, "Promise me!"

"I promise..." he rested his forehead on hers, "This isn't goodbye..."

"We'll see each other soon, won't we?" she asked, pulling down the bandanna around his mouth.

"Of course we will." he forced himself to smile. "I love you, Erza."

"I love you too..." she replied, capturing his lips in a slow and subtle kiss. He lifted his hands to cup her face, feeling her tears slide onto his thumb and bringing her deeper into the kiss.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, before pulling away to catch their breath. "I better go now," he gave her a small smile, "Before they find me."

"I'll see you soon...?"

"yes," he released her, "very soon."

Erza pecked his lips one last time, before turning away and walking through the castle gates. She turned to him, waved, and then disappeared.

Jellal pulled up his bandanna and looked at the castle one last time.

"That was very touching." sneered a voice. The bluenette froze, turning to see a muscular man with white hair and green eyes.

It was Hades.

"I knew you'd come back Jellal."

"You..." Jellal gasped, "You were the one who hired me to Assassinate the King."

"I was wondering when you'll find out..."

"You son of a bitch..." he growled, pulling out the gun. But before he could fire at the 'King', Hades took out a gun of his own and smashed it on Jellal's head. The ultramarine fell to the ground, feeling the pain consume him.

"Don't worry Jellal..." Hades smirked, "You'll reunite with your pathetic father soon."


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: I know you're all like "I thought you were revising for your exams?!"**

** Well, I am. I just have a spare hour today for me to sit back, kick my feet up and relax. But, i decided to write up the next chapter for this story. Why? Because I felt bad for leaving it behind.**

**Unfortunately, this will be the only time i update, until after my examinations. **

**Chapter 18: The Lesser Of Two Evils.**

* * *

Erza!" Hades cried, pacing towards his missing niece. "My beautiful niece, are you okay? What happened to you?"

"I'm fine, uncle Hades." The princess sighed, annoyed by how overprotective he was. "nothing happened to me. I'm not injured."

The 'king' quickly embraced her, "Oh, I'm so glad you're okay!" He whispered. Unfortunately, Erza didn't see his worried expression turned to a demonic grin.

She pushed him back slightly, "where's father?"

"You father... he-"

"ERZA!" A voice cried. Erza turned to see Simon running into the throne room. The brunette was just about to embrace her when she stood to side, making Simon trip on the carpet and fall onto the floor. "I've missed you..." he gasped, pushing himself from the ground.

"I missed you too, Simon." Erza answered, extending a hand towards him. "Here,"

"Thank you." The brunette beamed, taking hold of her hand. She yanked him up off the ground and he dusted himself.

"Uncle," the redhead murmured, turning to face the old man, "Where's my father?"

Hades' expression immediately saddened, and there was a sudden aura of gray around him. It was a mist that wouldn't rise. He sighed painfully, "Your father..." he trailed off, "He's gone... Unfortunately, that bullet wound damaged his heart so much, it wouldn't heal. I'm sorry..."

Her eyes widened with shock and she took a few steps away from him, "No..." she whispered. But, her accusations were incorrect as Hades continued to shake his head, indicating that Makarov was in fact, dead. She felt a terrible weight on her shoulders. It was as if a giant boulder was laid on her and she couldn't straighten up or catch her breath entirely. "H-he can't be dead..." she denied with all her might, "But the letter-"

"I'm afraid he passed away a few days after the letter was sent..."

"B-but-"

"Princess Erza," Simon interrupted, pulling her into his arms, "He's gone..."

"No!" she screamed, pushing Simon away, "You're lying!"

"I wish I was..." Hades grumbled sadly, "He was a good man, your father."

The princess should have been crying, but she was too numb to even think about it. The thought of her father's death made her feel sick. The sudden, deep pain in her heart was so bad, she felt as though the whole world came crashing down upon her.

The 'King' slowly walked towards her, "Don't worry, Erza." he smiled softly and rubbed her back soothingly, "We've found the culprit behind your father's murder."

Erza's head snapped up to meet his gaze, "What?!" she rasped out. "The culprits? How? Where?" she bombarded, "Who is it?"

"Relax Erza. He's in his cell."

"I want to see who it is!" she growled. A strange feeling stirred up in her stomach and she somehow, got a really bad feeling on who it was._ 'It can't be Jellal, He's already gone back to Crocus.'_

"Later, Erza." Hades said, guiding her to her room. "His trial will begin momentarily. Right now, you must go and change."

"But-"

"No buts, Erza."

She turned towards her room. Her breathing became heavy as she thought about Jellal's safety. "It cant' be him," she whispered out loud, trying to convince herself that the bluenette was already far away from the castle.

* * *

"You look so much better," Hades smirked, watching Erza take a seat beside him in the throne room.. "Are you ready to see the man who did this to your father?"

Erza didn't answer him, but continued to think about her love. Jellal Fernandez. 'Erza, he's fine. Besides, he's a strong man.' she thought, trying to reassure herself. _'But, what if- NO! Jellal's okay. Stop thinking about it Erza!'_

"Bring him in!" Hades called. The guards standing on either side of the large door, which was in front of them, bowed and left. He turned to Erza, "You look a little pale, are you sure you can handle being here?"

"I'm fine." she replied firmly. Her next breath got stuck in her throat as the guards returned, holding a man by his arms. There was a bag covering the criminal's face and Erza as unable to decipher who the person was. He wore a dark gray muscle shirt stained with crimson liquid, a pair of blacks pants and black leather boots. Her heart raced.

_Jellal was wearing those clothes._

He groaned quietly as the guards roughly tugged his limp body towards his feet. "Stand up!" The guards hissed, shaking the criminal. The man didn't respond and his body started to slack.

Erza gasped at how they were treating the poor man. They were shaking him violently and he looked too pained to move his limbs. She was even more shocked when one of the guards slammed the hilt of his sword into the culprit's stomach. He cried out in pain and began coughing uncontrollably.

"I SAID: STAND UP!"

"What he fuck's going on?" The man slurred, his voice was indistinct as there was a bag over his face. "Get your filthy hands off me!" He demanded, struggling against the guards.

Growing slightly inpatient, one of the guards kicked him in the side of his knees. "Shut your mouth!"

He grunted and loss balance on his injured leg. "Bastards…"

The princess began trembling. Her heart clenched in her chest and she began gasping for air. _'That voice.'_

Hades smirked, "Remove the bag from his head."

The guard grabbed the black bag and pulled it off wth much force, the man's head turned to the side and he hissed at how stiff his neck was. Erza felt her heart throb rapidly as shaggy azure hair became visible. His eyes slowly opened, and his golden orbs rested upon Titania's chocolate brown ones. The maroon tattoo was less visible as there was plenty of blood splatter on his pale skin. He looked at her and pursed his lips, dried blood defiled the edge of it.

"Jellal..." she breathed, making him bow his head in shame. "Jellal!"

"You know this man?" The 'King' grinned, turning back to the bluenette, "Jellal Fernandez."

"What do you want?" He asked angrily, "I'm not your pet!" He snarled viciously, causing the guard to his right to slam his fist into his stomach.

She shot up from her seat, "Jellal!" She cried, running towards him. But, Simon stopped her, "let me go Simon!" She snapped, trying to tug away from his grip.

"Erza, you're not allowed to make contact with the criminal." Simon reminded, pulling her back.

"But, he's not a-"

"Erza, I'm fine." He grunted and stood up staight, coughing up a few mouthfuls of blood which splattered on the floor.

"Jellal, you do know the reason why you're here?" The man with white hair asked.

The bluenette narrowed his eyes, "of course i do."

"For committing numerous crimes." He grunted evilly. "But, I'm happy to lift charges if-"

"No, Hades," A new voice joined the conversation. The group turned their heads to see a young woman with dark hair and green eyes smirking at them. She removed a whip from her belt, "allow me."

Hades nodded, "do as you must, Minerva." He murmured, sitting back in his throne.

Minerva chuckled darkly and walked past the ultramarine. She gripped his shirt and ripped it off his body, revealing his well-built chest, muscular torso and the v-line which disappeared under his pants. The afternoon sun shone on his smooth skin, bringing out the scars that meandered across his anatomy. "My, Jellal. You do look much better without a shirt on."

The princess clenched her fist in anger, "don't touch him!" She warned, "I swear you'll regret it!"

The dark haired woman only laughed demonically and turned back to Jellal. "I want to thank you for killing my worthless father." She whispered huskily, pressing the rooe of her whip against his navel. She slowly stroked his stomach with the rope and travelled up to his chest. "I could do with a decent man like you."

The assassin didn't react to her teasing. Instead, he just kept a staight face and carried on looking at her with a blank expression. "I'm not decent." He murmured, giving her a death glare.

She replaced the whip with her hands, sliding it all over his exposed skin, "Oh, but you are." She smiled, moving up to cup his cheek. She moved her face to his ear, making sure Erza didn't hear her words, "you can join us and we can rule Fiore together."

Jellal's eyes widened and he looked up at Erza. She looked like she was at the verge of killing Minerva. _'So, they were behind this..'_ He thought. Suddenly, he began laughing coldly at the dark haired woman, causing her to flinch. "Fool, do you really think I'm gonna follow you?!" He asked, "I only follow orders from MY princess," He hissed, "not from a bitch who treats her father like a piece of trash..."

"HOW DARE YOU!" Minerva roared, extending the lash and whipping the bluenette with it.

Jellal grit his teeth, forcing a scream back down his throat. But when the whip opened a cut on his chest and face he couldn't help but bellow in pure agony. He tried to break few from the guards' powerful grip, but his struggling seized when she opened enough wounds to completely immobilised him.

Erza's normally calm and pleasant demeanor slowly changed into anger; her nostrils flared and, her eyes hardened, closing into slits. The woman's mouth quivered and she broke out of Simon's grip. "You cold-hearted piece of shit!" She roared, jumping in Minerva's back.

Minerva screeched and threw Erza off of her. "A princess doesn't attack another woman!" She threw the whip on the floor and charged towards the redhead. "What kind of a princess are you?"

The redhead pushed herself from the ground and charged towards her. "I'm Erza Scarlet." She answered, ramming her index and middle finger into her xiphoid. Minerva yelped and felt all the muscles in her body relax, making her fall onto the ground.

The bluenette looked at her with wide eyes, blood dripping from his body, "Did I teach you that?"

"No," she whispered, blushing slightly, "I watched you do it to someone and decided to copy you."

"That's my girl." He murmured weakly. But he immediately jolted when Simon grabbed her arms from behind and pulled her into him. She screamed. "Let her go!" Jellal commanded, "why would you treat your princess like that?!"

"I'm afraid, " The brunette said plainly, "I follow orders from my King now."

"But Makarov-"

"Makarov's dead, you idiot," Hades growled, pointing at the bluenette, "and you killed him."

Jellal clenched his fist, "You..." he whispered, "you were behind this all, weren't you?!"

"You're good," Hades smiled, "Perhaps I underestimated you."

"Care to explain what's going on to your niece, Hades?"

"Uncle, what's he talking about?" Erza asked innocently.

"Tell her about what really happened to-" but he was cut off when the guard twisted his arm back. He groaned.

"Shut your mouth, you peasant." The old man snarled.

"Uncle please!" Erza begged, "leave him be!"

"Jellal Fernandez," he began, ignoring the redhead, "By killing King Makarov, you have committed high treas-"

Jellal growled, "do not cite the laws to me, Hades." He barked, "my father was there when it was rewritten."

"Your dare speak to your king like that?"

"You're not my King!" The assassin strained against the grip of guards, "and, you will never stand up to be a great ruler like him. Not even close!"

Erza felt a sense of pride, knowing what Jellal said about her father was true. She felt her heart flutter.

"Makarov is dead!"

"no he's not!" The blue haired man justified, "he's still alive. I can feel it in every drop of blood in my body."

"Silence!"

The princess gaped at the bluenette. Never had Jellal been so persistent in her life

"You're afraid of the truth, aren't you?" He asked, his voice softening. "You're a criminal, yet your afraid to face your own death and use your position as 'Prince ' to make others fear you."

"SILENCE BOY!"

"No."

Everyone in the room gasped, "what did you say?" The 'King' asked.

"You heard me loud and clear, didn't you?" He questioned, "I won't be silent. When i committed a crime, i was always ready to face the consequences."

"Well then," Hades smirked grimly, "you know the consequences, don't you?" He queried, staring at the battered man, "Jellal Fernandez, I hereby sentence you to death-"

"NO!" The scarlet haired woman cried, "DON'T! JELLAL!"

"-At dawn, you shall face the gallows." Hades finished.

"HADES!" The princess thrashed around in Simon's arms, "RECONSIDER IT, PLEASE!"

"Simon, silence her."

The brunette nodded and pressed a hand over her face. "Be quiet, Erza!"

Suddenly, something within Jellal snapped, "Don't touch her!" He dictated, "get your filthy paws off her, you pig!"

Erza cries were muffled, but the bluenette could tell that she was calling his name.

"Ugh. Take him away." Hades groaned with disgust, "this is making me feel sick."

The guards dragged the blue haired assassin away from the Princess, "Erza!" He cried, trying to break free. "ERZA!"

"As for you princess," the white haired man snickered, "you'll be staying in you're room where nobody is allowed to come into communicate with you. You got that?"

* * *

Gray pressed his fingers on the dirt, "the ground is still quite damp. And, this does look life the boot Jellal was wearing."

Natsu nodded, "so, we weren't so far behind them?"

"No."

"Gentlemen," Lucy intervened, "are we not making a move on?"

"We're just checking for directions." Natsu corrected. "Doranbolt knows the way back to the castle though."

"We must leave Doranbolt to his slumber," Sting joined in. "He's been through a lot."

Juvia walked over to them, "Is there any sign of him yet?" She asked desperately, "I need to know if he's okay."

"Juvia," the raven haired man whispered, "we're trying our best."

"Our best isn't good enough!" The blue haired woman retorted, "they could be in danger, and we wouldn't know!"

"look," Gray placed his hands on either one of her shoulders, "we will find them . I made a promise to Jellal that I will help him when he's in danger. He's like a brother to me as well."

"Yeah," Natsu agreed, "we're all family, and family never leaves their members behind."

"Juvia," Wendy yawned, "I want big brother..."

"We'll find him, Wendy," She murmured, pulling her into her arms, "and Erza too."

"C'mon." Gray walked deeper into the forest, "we're traveling all through the night and we're not resting until we find 'em."

* * *

**Well, there we have it!**

**I shall see you all within a few months time and wish you all the best until then!**

**See ya!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19: When hearts become one.**

* * *

"Get in, scum." The guards snickered, throwing Jellal on the sharp, rough ground of the prison cell. He cried out and cringed on the floor, feeling blood pour out the wounds Minerva inflicted on him earlier. "We'll come and collect you at later. So don't get comfortable."

Angered, the assassin pulled himself off the floor and charged towards him. "Erza!" Jellal screamed. "Where is she?!"

"You shouldn't worry for her." The guards hissed. He sheathed his sword and pressed it on the side of the bluenette's neck, where his carotid artery was located . "King Hades has plans for the princess."

"Dammit, he's _not_ the King!" Jellal grunted. He winced and fell to his knees when the pain from the lacerations on his body began throbbing manically. A cold breeze sent shivers up his spine and he watched as the guard left him laying on the floor.

Slowly, he sat up and looked around. The cell he currently resides in was cold, and the bitterness bit away at his flesh like piranhas biting away at their victim. There was no light in the cell, nothing but darkness which enveloped him in a harsh embrace. His own blood began painting the floor crimson and the color reminded him of her. The one person he fell in love with. The woman he made love to.

Erza Scarlet.

The very thought of the ways Hades treated her made him feel sick. '_How dare he treat his own niece like this?!_' He thought, standing shakily up to his feet. A guard passed by and Jellal quickly took the opportunity to grab him and slam his face into the metal bars, "I wanna know if Erza is safe." He growled savagely.

"Release me, or I'll ask Hades to kill you now." The guards threatened.

Jellal heard fear within his voice and grinned, "I don't give a shit about what you're gonna do to me; I wanna know if Erza's safe or not!" He repeated. "So tell me, is she okay?"

"How am I suppose to know? I haven't been to her room yet."

The bluenette released the man, "You're lucky there are bars between us. Otherwise, I would've ripped you to shreds by now." He taunted, amused by the guard's fearful reaction. As soon as he left, Jellal began thinking whether or not Erza was okay. He was afraid of what might happen to her because he deeply cared for her and promised Gray that he would bring her back to her father safely.

He didn't intend to break it.

"You know Erza?" Asked a voice from the darkness. Jellal turned around quickly and then groaned when he felt his wounds open up. Despite the complete blackness, he was still able to see a silhouette slumping against the wall in the corner of the cell. The figure was quite small and even though he wasn't able to see the mysterious person's face, he could tell that he's gravely weakened. "My daughter, you know her...?"

The blue haired man froze when he heard those words tumble from his lips. "You daughter?" He asked. His eyes suddenly widened. If he's the father of Erza, then he must be... "Makarov." Jellal gasped, relieved upon hearing his voice. "King Makarov."

The old man nodded and pushed himself away from the darkness that was surrounding him. The King need not be a big man but he instantly creates an impression of massiveness and purposefulness. His dark eyes were ringed with fatigue and his face slackened. The guy's 'once' white hair was now covered with dirt and grime, and his clothing was ripped and torn. "Yes, my boy."

"Forgive me, my King, but your daughter is with Hades and I don't know what he's doing to her." The bluenette explained. He got closer to the king so he got a better look at the assassin. "I brought her back safely but didn't realize Hades was going to do this."

When Makarov's eyes met Jellal's blue hair, hazel eyes and maroon tattoo, he felt somewhat intimidated by him. "Siegrain?" He asked, his voice trembling uncontrollably. "Is that you?!"

Jellal's eyes were suddenly filled with confusion, "no, I'm not Siegrain." He assured him. "I'm his son… and, I'm sorry for trying to murder you. You can take out your anger upon me.". He bowed his head down in shame, "I should be punished."

"No, boy." Makarov smiled, "you're not the one to blame. Hades manipulated your feelings and forced you to do it."

"But sire," He kept his head down, unable to face the King. His actions were unforgivable. Thus, he must be punished. "This was all because of me. If i didn't attempt to kill you, non of this would be happening.". The King's eyes softened as tears began raining from his tea-green orbs. "I'm disgraceful and I deserve to be executed since all I do is bring pain to everyone else."

The old man patted his back and Jellal jumped when his wilted hands made contact with him, "Don't be ridiculous, kid." He whispered, trying to talk some sense into the bluenette. "We're humans and we all make mistakes."

"Heh," The blue haired man chuckled sarcastically. "I'm no human. I'm a monster...". He hugged his knees and rested his chin on it. "Your daughter, Erza, filled me with hope.". Makarov's eyes brightened when he heard him mention the name of his daughter. "She was one of the reasons why I was able to break out my shell of hatred towards you, leave my past behind and move on."

Tears of pride brimmed in the King's eyes and he nodded slowly, "My Erza." He sobbed, "My daughter..."

"She taught me so many lessons and soon, we fell in love. She didn't care whether I was of royal blood or not, because she loved me!" Jellal justified. His powerful voice suddenly became timid, "She was my light and she was able to guide me to the right path.". He gritted his teeth in anger and cried out, throwing a punch at a nearby wall, "I don't care what happens to me, all I want is for Erza and the others to be safe and happy."

The King gasped loudly and looked up at the man. His memories, that he tried long to remember, now formed and completed the details of his past like the final brushstrokes of a masterpiece. "That's it. I remember now..." he whispered. Jellal turned to face him quickly, his brow quirked with curiosity and confusion. Makarov smiled, "Jellal Fernandez.. I remember you, and something about your father."

"What about my father?"

"He said those exact same words to me before _he_ was executed..." he explained, holding his tears back again. "You see, a while back..."

* * *

**Flashback...**

"Siegrain, why?" Makarov asked desperately as he stared at the blue haired man, who was breathing hoarsely after being tortured. His body was covered in cuts and bruised. The once omnipotent general Siegrain of Fiore, was now nothing but a ghost of his former self. "It wasn't you, why did you put the blame on yourself?"

"If i didn't, your subjects would think little of you, thinking that you're weak and you're unable to punish those who are guilty." Siegrain whispered softly. He lifted his head up slowly and smiled at the king who was on the verge of bawling. "My King, I'm truly sorry for your loss and I know how you feel."

"Sieg!" The white haired man screamed, grabbing the metal bars. He just lost his wife and now, he didn't want to lose his best friend. "I can reconsider it, I swear I'll get you out!"

"The verdict and your brother have already made their minds up; my execution is inevitable and there's no fighting it." The general said. Despite the situation, he was still able to be brave and not show any fear. "I've been convicted and therefore, I must face punishment."

"BUT YOU'RE INNOCENT!" He barked. His face showed distress and as he closed his eyes, drops slowly ran down his wrinkled face. "You don't deserve this..."

"There's no need to cry, my good friend." Siegrain assured. He pressed a hand over his bruised chest, directly above his beating heart. "I'm glad to have served such a great king like you, King Makarov. Alas, I knew our time together won't be so long."

"Don't say such rash things!"

Suddenly, three guards arrived at Siegrain's cell, "It's time." The three spoke in perfect timing.

"Makarov, promise me something," The bluenette said while the guards cuffed him and yanked him off the stone cold ground. "Promise me you'll look out for my kids. I don't really give a damn about what happens to me, all I want is for my darling children to be safe and happy."

"I promise…" Makarov choked, watching his friend get taken into the darkness.

Siegrain stopped and turned to him, "Especially my eldest son, Jellal. He tries to act strong despite the pain he's in and he always wants to protect his two younger sisters, Juvia and Wendy. The three of them are quite a handful."

"C'mon, We haven't got time to waste! We're already late for your sentence!"

Siegrain's eyes were suddenly filled with pain as he realized that he'll never be able see his children again or vice versa. He closed his eyes and prayed for his dear children.

_Jellal, Juvia and Wendy. No matter what, daddy will always love you._

* * *

**End of flash**

"I tried to help your father, I really did!" Makarov admitted. "But, Hades already convicted your father as guilty.". He looked at Jellal, his blue bangs covered his eyes and his fist clenched his anger. The King closed his eyes, "I tried looking for you and your sisters. But you three were no where to be seen."

"That's true." The assassin said. "Right after my father was taken away, I didn't believe Magnolia would be a safe place for me or my siblings to live in."

"Jellal, I'm truly sorry." He murmured sadly. "I was a fool. Only looking out for my own family and my Kingdom."

"You shouldn't be the one that's sorry." Jellal sighed. "I should be the one to apologise, not you."

Makarov held out his hand, "We're _both_ equally as guilty.". Jellal held his hand and shook it, making Makarov smile brightly at the assassin, "I think we should just let it go, as what Erza would say."

Jellal nodded, "If we carry on hating each other, all it'll cause is more pain and sadness."

"You're just like your father, he was able to see with eyes free of hatred, because he loved and cared for everyone.". This was the first Jellal's heard of someone complementing his father like this and he felt shocked by this. Makarov continued: "Had a strong sense of honour, which I, as a king, truly admired."

The bluenette opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted when two knights arrived and opened the cell door. Jellal narrowed his eyes and stood up shakily, his legs quivering slightly because of the previous beatings. "My time has come, hasn't it?" He asked, not a flicker of fear was detected in his eyes. He must stay strong for his sisters.

For Erza.

"You're either very brave," One of them spoke, admiring his attitude. "Or very stupid." He suddenly sneered. "Even the bravest of men display their terror before being executed. You're no exception."

Jellal raised a brow, "Only because those men were afraid to face punishment, despite knowing their own guilt." He explained. "I've done many terrible things in my life and I was always ready to face the consequences."

The knights grabbed Jellal by his arms and dragged him out the cell. "Drop the 'tough guy' act because it's not gonna stop your demise."

"Jellal!" Makarov screamed. He attempted to follow but they locked the cell door. "What about Erza and the others? What about your sisters?!"

The assassin sighed, "They're better off without me."

* * *

"There!" Gray pointed out the castle in the coming up in the distance. He squeezed his left leg on the horse's side, urging it to go faster. As soon as it picked up the pace, the others behind followed him like a herd of sheep, "We're almost there!"

Natsu smirked, "I'm all fired up!" He screamed, balling his fist. "I can't wait to kick some ass!"

"Hades is gonna pay for messin' with Fairy Tail." Laxus hissed angrily and gripped the hilt of his sword. "How dare they do this to our comrades?"

Juvia turned to her little sister who was clinging into her from behind, "You hear that? We're gonna find Jellal and Erza."

Wendy nodded, "If I have to fight, I will." She said bravely. Juvia smiled softly and gently patted her cerulean hair. "For Jellal and Erza." The two spoke.

The army of guild members stood in front of the castle. Despite some being from different guilds, they all wanted to come together and help one another. Because now, they are all members of one family. Once everyone was there, Gray spun horse around to face them, "We must split into two groups. The first group, which is my group, will look for the princess." He projected. "The other group, which is Laxus' group, will look for Jellal and free the other prisoners who where kept hostage by Hades!"

"Before we left the guild, Levy spoke about who's in what group." Laxus added and turned to the two blue haired girls behind him. "You two are going with Natsu, Gray and the other to find Erza."

"What about Jellal?" Wendy asked, "I want to go with you to find my big brother!"

"Don't worry, we'll get Jellal and after, we'll meet at the throne room. There, we'll find Hades and end this madness."

"But-" The young girl retaliated, but was stopped by Juvia.

"Wendy, we must trust him."

"So is this the plan?" Natsu asked, slamming his fist into the palm of his other hand. "I like it."

The group began murmuring quietly. But then, Gray heard bells ringing from inside the castle, "I never knew they ringed the bells. They rarely do it anymore."

Sting's eyes widened in shock, "They only ring 'em when someone's about to be executed!"

Lucy gasped, "You don't mean...?"

Laxus pulled his horse's reins back, "Dammit, that idiot's going to be hanged for committing federal treason!" He barked. "I can't let that happen- we still haven't finished our duel from a week ago!"

"Let's go then!" Mira yelled loudly, galloping towards the back entrance of the castle. Half followed the white haired woman, while the rest followed Gray and Natsu.

Laxus chased up to her and smiled, "Hope you're ready for some action."

* * *

"Erza," Simon whispered, nudging the redhead walking in front of him. "Hey, Erza." He tried again. The princess narrowed her eyes, irritated by his voice, and ignored him. "So, you're giving me the silent treatment again?"

Erza stopped in front of her room and opened the door. Simon walked in with her and she turned to face him. "What is wrong with you?!" She growled. "Why did you follow Hades? What happened to being loyal to my father?!"

"Your father is dead Erza." Simon lied.

"No he's not." Erza retaliated, trying to look for the katana on her back which was hidden from plain sight. "Simon, I trusted you."

"I'm sorry, Erza, but Hades promised me something in return."

"Oh yeah, what would that be?" She asked, getting her sword ready to attack him.

"He promised me that I would be able to be with you." He smiled brightly at the redhead and held his hand out to her. "Erza, even as a child, I've always loved you."

Her eyes widened suddenly at his abrupt confession. Sure, Erza knew Simon since they were kids, but she didn't really see him in that way. "Simon," she started. "I'm sorry, but I don't see you in that kind of way. You're a great friend and there's-"

"You're in love with someone else?" Simon asked, feeling rather irritated at the fact that there's another person the princess has fallen for- other than himself. "Who is he?"

She sighed, "I'm sorry for this...". In one quick movement, Erza revealed her katana and jabbed the hilt of it into Simon's stomach, knocking him out of consciousness. "Simon, forgive me for what I've done, I was never meant to hurt you." After making sure he was completely knocked out, the woman left her room and ran down the hallway towards the ward of the castle- where Jellal's execution is going to take place.

"It's the princess!" Hades' group of guards screamed, pointing at the redhead. "What's she doing out here? Shouldn't she be in her room?"

The woman smirked and hefted her katana. It's deadly blade glinted fiercely under the light of dawn. "I haven't got time for you guys. I'd rather finish you off quickly."

The group of heavily armed men stampeded towards the redhead. Erza huffed angrily and charged towards them- not bothered about the fact that there was more than ten of them and one of her. Before they could reach her however, she saw a flash of pink and black, and the next minute, all the guards drop to the floor- dead. There was loud screaming of people coming from the opposite end of the hallway- most of the voices she recognized.

"Erza!" Before the redhead could analyse the situation she was in, she was pulled into someone's powerful arms, trapped within a warm and comforting hug. Her eyes suddenly caught sight of a navy blue tattoo on the man's right pectoral- the tattoo was much like her own, and a sword shaped necklace hung from his neck.

She pulled back to meet Gray's tender eyes staring back at her. "Gray…?" She asked, her head cocked to the side in confusion. After a few seconds, she threw her arms around the ravenette's neck, "You came!"

The man held her tightly, "Jeez, I was so worried about you! Thank goodness you're okay.". He pulled his head back and examined her pretty face, "you're not hurt, are you?"

"No, I'm fine." The princess released him and turned to Natsu who was removing his sword from his victim. "We need to find Jellal. He's been sentenced to death."

"We know. Laxus and the rest are going after him." Gray explained, "Lucy, Juvia and Wendy are waiting for us downstairs, since we didn't want to attract as much attention."

"But stripper here made so much noise it made it impossible to sneak around without being noticed!"

"who are you calling 'Stripper'?!"

"Look at yourself, ya pervert!"

Gray yelped upon looking down at himself, clad in a pair of boxers, "why does this keep happening?!"

"You're an idiot!"

"Shut up, flame brain!"

Angered, Erza grabbed their heads, "Enough!" She bellowed furiously and whacked their heads together, "The both of you!"

The two grabbed their painfully throbbing heads and squeaked: "Aye…"

Erza replaced their heads by their hair and dragged them across the castle floor, "C'mon, We need to find Jellal."

* * *

"Today, we witness the execution of Mr Jellal Fernandes for committing federal treason by murdering the king." Zeref called out, holding a large scroll in his hands. "He shall be hanged for his crimes."

Jellal was pushed onto a platform and he looked up to face the gallows. His eyes were wide with surprise because he was certain that he would never end up here in this very spot.

But he was wrong.

From amidst, Hades sat, watching the bluenette kneel on the wooden platform. "I'm doing him a favor for not executing him in public. Otherwise, his sisters would be the next people on my hit list." He murmured, lifted a glass to his mouth. "Besides, no one would want to watch the death of this pathetic piece of trash."

"Sire, isn't executing the man a little, 'extreme'?" A young girl with pink hair asked, her voice flooded with remorse.

"You dare question my actions, Meredy?" Hades hissed.

The girl shook her head quickly, "No, your highness..."

"Good," he replied darkly, "don't want to end up like Ultear, don't you?"

Meredy squashed down the urge to scream at him and turned her attention back to the bluenette. Jellal looked around the empty courtyard and then to the high castle walls. _'There's no one here._' He thought and watched as Zeref slid the ropes around his neck.

"Have you any words to say before-"

"No." Jellal said bluntly. He closed his eyes as the red eyed man placed a sack over his head, hiding his blue hair and tattoo. '_I'm sorry, Erza, Juvia, Wendy and all my other friends.'_ He took in a deep breath and waited for death to take him by surprise. His lips curved into a smile as he contemplated his life. _'I just want to thank you all for being there for me. Especially you, Erza. You filled me hope and helped through the darkest hours of my life. Princess Erza, I love you so much, never forget that_.'

Zeref nodded at Hades and grabbed the lever, which controls the opening and closing of the platform beneath the bluenette's feet. One movement and he would fall, his neck would snap and it'll all be over. Jellal trembled at the thought of it and couldn't stop thinking about what will happen as soon as his life has been taken away.

Hades smirked evilly and gave Zeref a small nod- to which the black haired man responded by pulling the lever back.


	20. Chapter 20

Zeref pulled the lever back and Jellal felt the platform beneath him suddenly disappear. He closed his eyes and waited death to slowly take him in its jaws. But someone wouldn't allow it.

"Fuck you, Jellal!" Laxus screamed, pulling the bowstring of his arrow back. He quickly aimed at the rope and released. "I ain't letting you die! We still have to find out who's the strongest in Fairy Tail!"

Jellal's eye shot open,_ 'Laxus...?'_ Death never really took Jellal away; it just was never his time to die- he had too much to lose if he did. The arrow pierced the rope and Jellal was falling. He smiled- but no one was able to see such a miracle because of the bag hiding his handsome face, _'Thank you…'_

He landed hard. When his back made contact with solid ground, he felt his breath suddenly got stuck in his chest and he was paralyzed for a short period of time, "Ya could've killed me, you idiot...!" He gasped, and pulled himself off the floor. Despite the rescue being quite painful, he was happy that his friends came in time.

"Well, this 'idiot' just saved your sorry ass!" Laxus smirked, and threw his bow aside. He replaced it with his sword and swung it close to Jellal's wrist, cutting the binds that enclosed his hands.

The bluenette lifted his hand and removed the sack over his head, freeing his sweaty azure hair and revealing his infamous tattoo. "I couldn't thank you guys enough," he whispered, and smiled at the group of people behind Laxus- most of which were his fellow guild mates and some from other guilds. "But, we've no time for celebrations right now."

Laxus nodded, "What do you want us to do?"

Jellal turned back to Hades, sitting on the balcony. His fists were closed around the railings, eyes widened, mouth agape and shaking with anger, "You..." The 'King' hissed, and fled the area. "I must find the princess..."

"He's after the princess and the king is still alive." Jellal whispered.

"Here, Jellal!" Mira called, bringing a black horse over to him. "Is he yours?"

Jellal walked over to the magnificent black steed and gently stroked his muzzle, "Hey, Shadow. You missed me, buddy?" Shadow bobbed his head up and down, responding to his touches.

"The King's still alive?" The blonde asked, disbelieving the blue haired assassin.

"Yeah…" He climbed on his horse and pointed to the castle. "We must find Hades!" With that, the group followed their leader into the castle.

* * *

Erza, Gray and Natsu headed downstairs to meet their other friends, who were holding off the rune knights. "Took your time!" Sting laughed, and pushed back the knights, knocking them over like dominoes.

Natsu smirked and lifted the swords in either one of his hands, "This brings back so much memories," he turned to his naked friend beside him. "Isn't that right, pervert?"

"Pervert? Who are you..." Gray looked down at his bare body and yelped. "Where are my clothes?!"

Erza turned away from the two, trying hard not to acknowledge his naked friend.

"INTRUDERS!"

Gray turned around, grinned and hefted his Wakizashi, "Bring it on!" He exclaimed, rushing towards the group. With one swing, he was able to take out multiple targets- something Erza found absolutely incredible.

The redheaded woman drew her katana and followed him. Gray ducked and Erza used the opportunity to propel herself from his back towards the army of enemies. She shoved her sword upwards, slicing the throats of those who dared crossing paths with this deadly blade. "This is what you get for messing with the guilds!"

When Erza stood aside, Sting sprang from beside her and launched himself at them, "You mess with 'em- you mess with us too!" He screamed. After he delivered several blows, he jumped back and turned to the pinkette, "Go, Natsu!"

"AYE!" Natsu roared, ran towards a torch and ignited his blades on fire. He swung the metal around and the guards watched in awe as the flames on his swords grew bigger, "I'M ALL FIRED UP!" He shouted, and stampeded into the crowd. There was a loud back and the group was instantly burnt by Natsu's torrent of fire.

"That was hard work." Gray murmured, and yanked the blades out his victim.

Erza shook her head, "Really?" She questioned. "I was just getting warmed up."

"Same here!" The rosette agreed, spinning his swords around to rid the flames. He turned to the blonde who was staring at the doorway intensely, "There somethin' wrong, Sting?"

"More guards..."

Sting was right. Another large army of rune knights entered the throne room and stormed towards the four. "A real man doesn't need a real weapon!" The large group was suddenly taken out and Elfman appeared amongst the smoke.

"Good to see you, Elfman." Erza greeted.

Elfman bowed, "Greetings, you're highness."

"Where are the rest of them?" Natsu asked angrily. "I wanna fight someone!" He suddenly noticed that they were one person short, "Where's Luigi?"

Erza turned to him and slapped his face hard- sending him flying across the room, "Her name's Lucy!"

"Ow! That hurt!"

"A real man can easily endure the pain inflicted by a woman!"

"Speaking of which," Gray looked around for Erza's blonde best friend. "Where is she?"

* * *

"King Makarov!" Lucy gasped, rushing over to the King's cell. The old man lifted his head tiredly and stared up at the blonde with half opened eyes. The woman grabbed the keys on the stone floor and opened the cell door. "Hang on, you majesty! I'll get you out!"

"Lucy..." The King whispered hoarsely, looking up at the woman with a faint smile on his pale, shriveled face. "I thought you were killed during the escape."

She gently took hold of his delicate arm and swung it around her shoulders, supporting him off the floor, "No, I'm not dead. I feel very much alive in fact." She chuckled, guiding him out the cell. "All the guilds in Fiore joined to make one army, and they're now trying to hunt down Hades."

"What about Erza?"

"She's okay." The woman assured.

Upon hearing about his daughter's safety, the King felt a wave of relief wash over his battered body, "Oh, thank goodness..." he said breathlessly.

The basement was filled with the roars of determination coming from upstairs. Lucy smiled at the King beside her, "Your people really do love you, don't they?"

Makarov nodded slowly.

"I never thought you would make it out alive, Lucy..." A voice chortled, interrupting the latter's conversation.

Lucy's eyes widened when she saw Erik appear darkness, "Erik?! You're alive?"

The maroon haired man chuckled, "Of course I am!" He exclaimed icily. The coldness of his voice was able to freeze Lucy's blood. The man gestured to five other silhouettes beside him, "Thanks to Hades, I've now been reunited with my comrades!"

Makarov narrowed his eyes, "You traitor!" He hissed. "I thought Hades killed you all!"

"No," said one of the silhouettes. He revealed himself from the blackness to reveal his long face and his blond and black hair; his eyes hidden by a pair of sunglasses. "Hades said he wouldn't kill us if we brought you to him."

"That's true, Racer." Another one of the figures stood before then. He had eyes red as blood itself and hair as black as night- which perfectly suited his nickname: Midnight.

"There's no way you're standing in our way, Makarov!" A woman with white hair screamed.

"I don't think we should fight!" Hoteye intervened. "If we fight, we wouldn't be able to find my brother..."

The woman turned to him and said: "Hades said we must fight in order to gain our wishes!"

"Angel's right. We have to fight to achieve what we want." Erik called. "Hades told Brain that the King is our next target."

"I don't believe this..." Makarov removed his arm from the blonde's shoulder and staggered forward. "The Oraciôn seis are back? After all these years, you all decided to betray me?!"

Racer smirked, "Hades promised us true freedom! Ever since you made us into your little pawns- we never had the chance to be free!" He explained angrily, rushing towards the two at incredible speed. "We will obtain freedom."

Before Racer could reach the king, he was taken out by a man with deep cerulean hair and a tattoo ringing his right eye, "Freedom?" He asked, smashed Racer into the ground and turned to the remaining members of the Oraciôn seis. "You're freedom is nothing but a lie, Sawyer!"

The group fell silent.

"Jellal?!" Makarov asked, disbelieving the fact that he was still alive. "The execution. I thought…?"

"No," Jellal grinned. "The execution went slightly wrong."

Lucy watched as the bluenette held his arm out to the two- indication them that this was his fight and for them to not get involved. The blonde remember Erza talking about a man with blue hair, hazel eyes and a tattoo covering his right eye. He was the one who attempted to kill the King. _But is he really the same man?_

"Aren't you... Jellal Fernandez?!" Erik, a.k.a Cobra, asked, grabbed his swords and dashed towards the ultramarine. Midnight followed him. "You're supposed to be dead!"

Jellal dodged the attacks quickly, grabbed their shirts and slammed them into the wall, "I'm not letting you get to the King." He growled, and turned to Makarov watching him with wide eyes. "My king, leave and go upstairs; I've got these guys."

"But-"

Angel pulled out a dagger from her belt and tried to the stab the blue haired man. But all she managed to do was cut his arm- tearing a bit of his jacket that Laxus gave him. "You don't know anything about freedom!"

The assassin grabbed her wrist and twisted it back, making her scream and release the dagger, "If I didn't, I wouldn't be fighting you; would I, Sorano?!" He barked, and rammed his fist into her stomach. Sorano choked, closed her eyes and collapsed. Jellal clenched his fist and cracked his neck, "Freedom cannot be achieved if you're still shackled to the darkness of your past."

_'He's just beaten two members without lifting a finger...'_ Cobra thought incredulously.

"That's not true!" Midnight retaliated furiously. Him and Cobra grabbed him by the arm and began beating him senseless. "Anyone who gets in our way will be beaten!"

"Really, Macbeth?" Jellal asked, calling him by his true name.

"Don't call me that!"

"Get outta there, Jellal! You're gonna get yourself killed!" Makarov cried. "You can't die! What about Erza?!"

Lucy looked down at the King, "What are you talking about?"

Jellal cried out in pain and fell to his knees; the attacks inflicted on him were too much for his body to handle. "I said," Jellal gritted. "Get out of here, now!"

"We have to go!" Begged Lucy as she held Makarov's shoulders and led him upstairs.

"You're still alive?" Cobra asked, releasing his arm. Jellal groaned and fell back. However, Cobra grabbed his wrist, brought him back up and landed a hard punch to his face- sending him flying into a stone wall which cracked upon impact.

"You made a mistake by choosing to fight us on your own!" Midnight laughed, and landed a finishing blow to him.

"You're Jellal Fernandez?" The maroon haired man sneered. The assassin was grounded; his body trembled a little, his eyes were closed- obviously drifting into infinite darkness. Cobra pressed his hand on his missing eye and laughed at the dying man, "You're even more pathetic than I thought!"

"Now," Said a new voice. Midnight and Cobra turned to see their leader, Brain, join in. "I'll be the one to finish you off!" He bellowed demonically, jumped in the air and struck Jellal in the chest with his knuckles.

The group suddenly gasped when the assassin lifted his arm and caught his flying fist, "You can't kill me." Grumbled Jellal and he crushed Brain's fist in his hands. Brain was suddenly pulled towards him and Jellal head-butted him- knocking him out.

Before Cobra or Midnight had time to react, Jellal appeared behind them, grabbed their hair and threw them on the floor, "Tell me where I could find Hades, Macbeth!" He ordered, shaking the red eyed man vigorously.

"You defeated me. You might as well kill me…"

"No." Jellal answered blankly. "If I killed you guys, you wouldn't be about to atone for the sins you have committed. Even in death, your sins will forever weigh you down- obstructing your path to heaven."

Cobra's eyes widened, '_Heaven...?_'

"_Live_ and suffer what life has in store for you." Jellal pleaded, repeating the words Erza once told him. "_Live_ and atone for what you have done!'

* * *

Erza groaned and looked down the empty hallway, which was like a labyrinth to her. Gray told her to look for Jellal while they distract the guards. At first, she had to decline it. But he begged her to go. Gray Fullbuster _begged_ her to go. Because of that, Erza had no choice but to do as she was told- even if she didn't like being told what to do.

"Damn this place..." she hissed, and headed down to the place where she thought Jellal was. The castle seemed smaller than before- maybe it was because of the fact that she was able to the see outside world. For the first time, she was able to witness things she thought she'd never see in her lifetime.

That was, until Hades came and ruined everything.

She swore that she would get revenge on him for harming her friend, her comrades and her father. With that murderous gleam in his eyes every time he looked at her, she could tell that he was hiding something.

The redheaded woman stopped and looked at the door in front of her, which looked exactly like the one behind her. "This place..." she growled, and carried on running. She stopped again upon hearing footsteps quickly approaching her from behind. Thinking it was a guard- or maybe Simon, she turned around and the person was lucky enough to parry her attack.

But it wasn't a guard, or Simon.

He was young, early twenties– and handsome, very handsome. He's quite tall, dressed in a pair of black pants, similar color boots and jacket. A grey shirt that embraced his body, revealing the well-defined muscles of his chest and torso, with silky blue colored hair and intense, bright hazel eyes that regarded her intensely with a scarlet tattoo framing his right one. There would be cuts here and there, but that didn't intervene with his perfect figure.

"Jellal...?" She squeaked, and dropped her sword.

"Erza," He lifted his hands and cupped her face, eyeing her beautiful face closely. As soon as she felt his hands on her skin, she felt an exhilarating shiver race through her body. He smiled and cocked his head to the side, "Looking as beautiful as ever."

The princess felt weak; she thought she'd never see his twinkling eyes or his striking blue hair. She gripped his shirt, "You nearly gave me a heart attack!" She gritted, holding back the tears that threatened to leak out her eyes. "Are you trying to get yourself killed? What's wrong with you?!" She scolded.

Jellal saw tears roll down her cheeks and she continued to scream at him, "Are you trying to prove something?" She asked, and carried on rebuking him for his actions.

"Erza," He said her name again; only this time, even softer and quieter. His hand snaked its way to the back of her head and gently pulled her into his chest, holding her tight. "I'm sorry."

The grip she had on his shirt loosened and she melted in his arms, "You said you'll be okay..."

"I know."

"Do you know how painful it was for me to watch you fight for me..?" She questioned. "Promise me you won't do it again!"

"I promise, Erza." He answered, and kissed her head numerous times. After a few minutes of making up for the lost time, the assassin pulled away from her, picked up the katana Erza dropped earlier and handed it to her, "Where were you off to before I interrupted you?"

"I was in my way to save you; but it looks like you don't need to be saved." Erza answered. "What about you?"

"I'm off to find Hades." Jellal replied coldly, staring at the staircase behind the princess. He clenched his fist as he remembered what Hades did to his and Erza's father. "Where are Natsu and the others?"

"They're fighting the rest of the royal army. They diverted the path of guards for me."

"Great. Now I have time to find that guy."

"I'm coming with you." Said Erza. "I have a score to settle with him."

"Good," He approved, took hold of her hand and ran towards the stairs. "Let's go!"

"Do you even know where he is?" Erza asked, stopping his movements.

"He's in a place _all_ cowards hide during a battle; which is as far away from the battlefield as possible."

"This is the person you're in love with, Princess?" Simon asked, cutting in on their conversation. "In that case," he whispered, and grabbed a knife from his pocket. "I must kill him!"

Erza made her way towards the brunette but Jellal held out his arm, stopping her. "No," Whispered the assassin. "I got him. Go find Hades."

"But-"

"Erza, just do as I ask." He murmured, and pushed her up the stairs. "I promise I'll be up there in a minute."

"You better not die!" Called the princess, and she began running up the stairs.

_'Don't worry, my dear.'_ He thought, dodging Simon's attacks._ 'I'm not going to die.'_

* * *

"Hades," Spat Erza in disgust. She watched her uncle stand up from the bed and paced up and down the room. "It's over now. Your army has almost been eradicated."

"No Erza," Hades smirked. "It's over for you."

The woman lifted her katana and pointed at the large, sneering man, "You don't seem to be bothered about the fact that I'm about to kill you."

"You can't kill me, princess." He pointed out the injuries on her body, "Let's remind ourselves about who has the upper hand, shall we?"

"You killed many innocent people!"

"I don't care about these 'people'! They decided to stand in my way so I annihilated them!"

"What pleasure do you find in taking people's lives away? How are you able to do it without regretting your own actions?" She asked bitterly.

"They're all weak! They all deserve to die!"

Erza winced at his words, "You despicable person..."

"I'm still your uncle, aren't I?" He asked arrogantly, and began to circle his prey. "You do realize that your father is dead because of that man."

She kept calm and didn't answer him

"No reply?" His gaze was unwavering and intense. He smiled to himself, "Jellal Fernandez, is that his name?"

Her eyes twitched.

"He's the reason for your father's demise, right?"

"That's not true." The answer didn't come from Erza however. It came from a blue haired man who was slumped against the door, holding a wound on his shoulder. "The King's still alive. He's not dead."

The redhead turned to him, "He's alive?" She asked desperately.

"Yeah," Jellal pushed himself off the door and lurched towards the woman. "I was speaking to him before I came to find you, and he seemed okay."

"He won't be for very much longer." Hades injected.

"What are you talking about?"

"The bullet wound you inflicted on his heart will never heal because the bullets I gave you had a special type of serum coated on it." He explained. "The serum prevents the blood from clotting. As a consequence, the victim would die of substantial blood loss."

"How ignorant are you to take me as an idiot?" Jellal snapped. Hades cocked his head to the side in confusion. The assassin's body began trembling- not out of fear, but anger, "I know about the serum you placed on the bullets. However, the night before I infiltrated the castle, I swapped out the bullets with the ones Gajeel made me."

"You didn't...!" He gasped, and backed away from the two. "You interrupted with my plans!"

"Thanks to Polyusica, Makarov has made a speedy recovery. Obviously, Polyusica first thought that his wounds weren't healing because of the serum you spoke of, which brought your hopes high. But then, she noticed that Makarov just needed time to recover."

"Shit…"

"I was also able to put several pieces of a puzzle together." The bluenette added, looking at the princess beside him. "_You_ were the person who gave me the request on the first place. Therefore, _you_ were the person who killed the Queen on the night of Erza's birthday."

Erza's body froze. 'Hades killed mother?' She thought, and trembled uncontrollably. She paled and raised a hand to cover her racing heart as she looked at her demon of an uncle, smirking at her. 'She was his sister-in-law, how could he do such a thing?'

"Not only did you do that, you blamed it on my father too. Because of that, he was sentenced to death..."

"You monster!" Erza roared, dashing towards Hades. She slashed his torso and then punched him in the face. Hades pushed her and she slid back. "They loved you and you turned your back on them! You wanted to kill them!"

"I never cared for your parents!"

"I should've seen what kind of a monster you really were." Erza panted. "You killed her..."

"You killed the people who were dearest to us and messed with Fairy Tail." Jellal snarled viciously.

Erza pressed her hand on his chest; this time, it was her turn to stop him, "I wanna to be the one to kill him."

"I'm surprised you found out so much about me. But you're missing out one very important thing." Hades explained. "Your mother was never really my target."

"Yeah?" Erza growled, readying herself to attack him again. "Who was?"

Hades cackled fiendishly at her ignorance, "_You_ were my target, princess!"


	21. Chapter 21

**This chapter took me forever to write. I'm sorry for the wait!**

**Btw, this story is near completion; just another 2 or 3 chapters.**

**I want to thank Wolfspirit44 for beta-ing my work. It's good to have you back helping me, bud!**

**Enough talk, let's read!**

**Chapter 21: The nightmare that ended**

* * *

"Where did Erza disappear to?" Natsu asked, kicking a guard in the stomach. The man screamed out in pain and collapsed to the ground.

"She went to go find Jellal!" Gray replied, having to scream because of the loud noises echoing in the throne room. He continued to fight, taking down man after man that stood in his way.

Once Gray and Natsu took out the large group of soldiers, they decided to head back downstairs to where the others were.

"I bet I took out more soldiers than you." Natsu grinned cockily at the ravenette, who glared at him icily.

"In your dreams, idiot."

The pinkette suddenly lifted his sword, "who are you callin' an 'idiot', stripper?"

Angered by his words, the half-naked man lunged towards him. Despite being in the middle of battle, the two had, somehow, enough energy to fight each other. However, the two didn't notice the large, muscular man with blonde hair approach them. He grabbed their heads and slammed them together, ending their so-called 'fight'.

"You two are honestly the most pathetic people I've ever met!" Laxus growled, throwing the two on the ground. "Quit bickering, will ya?!"

Natsu rubbed his sore head and quietly whispered, "meanie…"

"We've managed to secure the west perimeter," Mira said as she and her siblings joined the three. Quickly, she tended to both Natsu's and Gray's wounds. The battle they were currently in had been raging for quite a while now; many had been injured. Unfortunately, there were no doctors to help them. All they had was each other.

"Sting and the others are at the north side," Laxus reminded the group. "Hopefully they've successfully defeated all the guards."

When the group heard footsteps, they turned to see Cana, supporting a severely injured Macao. There was a large cut meandering across his right eye, bleeding heavily down his face.

"There's too many of us injured. I don't know how long we could keep this up," murmured Cana and she gently set Macao against the wall. He grunted with pain but kept his voice quiet.

Elfman gazed at his comrades and smiled gently. "A real man will always protect his friends."

Gray nodded, "We'll pull through this, guys!" He exclaimed. "All we need to do is work together!"

The man with a lightning scar across his face smirked when more guards came into his view. The group stood in a line and drew out their weapons, protecting Macao and Cana from the incoming soldiers. "Let's go!" Laxus screamed and dashed towards the sea of knights, followed closely by Mira.

Gray looked over at Natsu and grinned, waiting for him to say something.

"Well?"

"I'm all fired up!"

* * *

"You were my target, princess!"

Hades pointed to the princess and she froze; the air around her thickening and making it difficult for her to breathe.

"You…" Erza trailed off, feeling an uncomfortable sensation in her stomach. She felt as though a hot needle pierced her torso, and it hurt. How much the truth hurts…

"If I kill you, Erza, your father and mother would spiral into depression!" He revealed. "They would be forever looking for the ones who killed their precious daughter and I would be able to kill them with ease."

Tears were now streaming down Erza's face as she recalled the events of her children when she first met her uncle. He seemed like a nice guy, but she would never, in her life, have thought that Hades would go to the extremes and attempt to kill her. However, in doing so, he killed her mother instead.

That was what shackled her in paralyzing fear.

The expression on Erza's face only made Hades grin more widely as a mixture of excitement and desperation surged through his body at the thought of finally killing his little niece.

"Uncle Hades, father put his trust in you!" Erza reminded. "How could you turn your back on him? He's your own brother!"

"That's the thing, Erza," Hades said coldly. "Your father was the perfect son; he was always the one my parents spoiled. When it came to the day a new king was crowned, I knew I'd never get the throne!" His mood immediately darkened as he recalled the memories of that day. The day he was supposed to be crowned king. "I was the elder one! I was supposed to be the one that inherited the throne!"

The princess stood, her mouth opening and closing like a fish gasping for water.

He continued, "I wanted the throne back so I thought of a plan to get rid of your father. But, once I heard about the fact that he was married and had a daughter, I wanted to make him suffer. Unfortunately, your mother got in the way and defended you from that arrow. But, I'm glad that she's gone. Now, I'll have-"

"SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" Roared Jellal as he threw a punch at Hades' face; like Erza, liquid emotions flooded down his dirt-stained cheeks.

The force of the punch was powerful enough to toss him back; Hades yelped in shock and agony as his face hit the ground first, causing blood to pour out his nose. He turned to look at the assassin who stood with his hands clenched tightly, readying himself to attack the King once again.

Jellal's chest heaved rapidly as he tried to control the anger building up within him. He was just fed up by the way Hades treated Erza;_ Erza was his own niece, for crying out loud!_

The redhead watched in utter amazement as Jellal threw his sword and approached Hades, weaponless. But, the reason for him to have tears on his face still remained a mystery to her.

"You..." growled Jellal and he took steps towards the fallen king. "How could you do this to your own family?!"

Hades turned himself over, screaming, "They're not my family! They're nothing but-"

Before he could continue, Jellal grabbed him by the throat and lifted him up; his eyes harbored a digested look as they pierced into the elder man's soul.

"You're a monster, you know that?" The bluenette spoke coldly.

"At least I wasn't the one that tried to kill the King for money," Hades smirked.

Baring his teeth, Jellal pulled his arm back and jabbed his elbow into the King's stomach, winding him.

"I, unlike you, have a family! I have two sisters that need their big brother's help!" He retaliated, bringing Hades back up again; only for him to deliver another blow to his face. "You, on the other hand, are lonely and treat the ones who care for you like shit! I'm telling the truth, aren't I?"

When Hades didn't reply, it only angered the assassin more.

"Answer me!" He barked.

"You're a fool…"

Jellal was suddenly caught off guard when Hades threw pieces of broken glass into his face, some entered his eyes, causing him to close them. He held back a scream when Hades kicked his shin, forcing him to bow before him.

"Jellal!" Screamed Erza and she raced towards her uncle. "You…!"

Hades, sensing her approach, dodged her attack with ease, grabbed Jellal's sword and parried her every blow.

"You'll soon be joining your mother, Erza!"

"You don't scare me!" Erza growled, connecting her blade with his. "How dare you show such disrespect?!"

Jellal winced and kept his eyes closed, unable to open them because of the injuries they obtained. He was anxious to find out whether Erza was okay or not and the sound of metal clanging didn't put his mind at ease; it only made him more desperate. He reached for his shirt, tore a piece of fabric out and bandaged it around his eyes.

"Erza!" Jellal called.

Hearing his voice made the fire within Erza grow stronger as she continued to battle the man she once called 'uncle'. Of course, it made her upset, thinking that she'll have to kill a member of her own family; but he killed her mother, so he should suffer the same fate.

However, she can't get distracted by him; it was a rule of fighting that Jellal, himself, taught her after all. If she remembered vividly, it was rule number one: _never let your guard down._

Hades pushed her back with his sword and smirked at her. "Your fighting skills have improved, I'm impressed."

Erza gritted her teeth in anger; how much she wanted to lunge at him again, but she can't. Another rule she followed, of course. Rule number two: _let your opponent make the first move._

"YOU'RE GOING TO DIE, ERZA!"

The man flew towards her and Erza, calculating his speed, was able to dodge the attack. She quickly recovered and lifted her weapon, so that the tip of the blade was pressing against the hilt of his sword. In one swift movement, the princess was able to disarm him and, Hades watched in shock as the sword jumped out his hand and landed, with a clang, on the ground.

"How…?"

"I'll give you a few minutes to end this battle. You've lost, Hades," Erza said calmly.

"I don't think so..." He chuckled and turned to the door, sensing someone approaching them. "What have you got for me, Zeref?" He asked as the shadowy figured entered the room, revealing a black haired man with dark red eyes.

Zeref smirked, "Though we've lost most of our men, Hades, I'm sure we'll be able to force them to surrender if we wager this little life."

As soon as both Jellal and Erza heard the cry of a little girl, their hearts immediately stopped, and the princess turned to see a young blue haired girl locked in Zeref's arms. Unfortunately for the assassin, he was unable to see the person trapped in the demon's grasp.

In a flash, while she was distracted, Hades reached into his pocket, pulled a gun out and grabbed Erza, pressing the muzzle against her temple.

"You…" Erza hissed, trying to wriggle out of her uncle's arms. "You cheated!"

"There were no rules to this game in the first place!"

"Big brother!" The young girl in Zeref's arms screamed, reaching out to the temporarily blinded man. "Your eyes!"

"Wendy!" Jellal cried, looking around desperately for her. "What are you doing here?!"

The ultramarine began to worry; not only was that Wendy was here, but he was unable to see her too and he desperately wanted to know whether or not she was okay.

Wendy closed her eyes and shook her head. "I'm sorry; I wanted to make sure you were okay..." she whispered, her voice trembling with a mixture of happiness and fear. "I didn't want you to disappear, Jellal."

"Wendy..."

Erza smiled, "Jellal, even though all you can see is total darkness, I want you to know that all your friends will be right here beside you." She elucidated, smiling softly at the bluenette, who was standing in the middle of both Hades and Zeref.

_'Erza,'_ Jellal thought,_ 'it was your words that gave me hope; they became my light that would guide me to the right path again.'_

With his eyesight gone, Jellal was unable to make out the situation going on around him.

"Jellal," Hades called, forcing the blue haired man to face him. "You can choose who lives: Your sister or your beloved!"

"Who will you choose? Would you want your sister to live in exchange for Erza's life?!" Zeref taunted.

"Jellal, don't listen to them!"

Hades, taking advantage of the situation, pointed the gun at Jellal, instead of Erza, wanting to wipe out Siegrain's children as soon as possible.

"Hurry up, Jellal, we haven't got all day..."

Without his vision, Jellal had to rely heavily on his other senses: _smell, touch, sounds and taste._ If he concentrated hard enough, he might just be able to pull off a stunt.

"Your guns," Jellal voiced out. "They're useless."

"What are you talking about?" Zeref questioned, staring at the firearm in his hand.

"Don't listen to him, fool!" Growled Hades. "He's obviously tryin' to trick us!"

The assassin threw his hands up on defense, "No, I'm not." He retaliated. "Where did you guys get those guns from anyway?"

"I found mine somewhere on the ground while I was fighting!" The black haired man answered. "Now, you better shut up otherwise I'll take Wendy's life for sure."

"I'm just trying to say that your guns have no bullets in them," Jellal explained. "If you still don't believe me, try and shoot me."

Erza knitted her brows together, "What are you-"

"Don't worry," he interrupted. "I know what I'm doing."

"You'll regret saying that!" Zeref aimed at Jellal and pulled the trigger back. However, instead of hearing the sound of a gunshot, the magazine slipped out and fell onto the floor, indicating that there were no bullets in the gun.

The same thing happened to Hades; he stared at the gun in confusion and didn't realize that the bluenette was gesturing his hand at Erza.

Erza, realizing what the blue haired man was planning, broke free from Hades, kicked the gun towards Jellal, grabbed her katana and, without a second thought, plunged the blade into his stomach.

Blood splattered out his mouth as the princess yanked her weapon out of him, a grunt of pain escaping his lips.

The very sight of it made Zeref release the girl he was holding, dazed at the fact that Hades, for the first time, lost. Shaking his head in disbelief, he ran out the room to warn the others.

"Jellal!" Wendy cried, jumping on her brother.

"I lost...?" Hades gasped, falling to his knees due to the substantial amount of blood loss.

"Yeah," Erza turned her back to him and slowly walked over to the bluenette who, even though he couldn't see, was smiling directly at her. "A man like you will never be king."

"If I'm going down," Hades shrieked, reaching for his niece. "YOU'RE GOING DOWN WITH ME!"

"I don't think so…"

Quickly, Jellal grabbed the gun by his feet, pulled the slide back and shot Hades in the chest, ensuring his demise.

_'How…?'_ Hades thought, finally falling to the ground.

"Sometimes, people forget that there is still one bullet left in the chamber," The ultramarine murmured. "But you must always re-load the gun."

Ignorant. That was what Hades was.

Erza stared at the lifeless body of her uncle; though this was her doing, she didn't feel any guilt nor did she feel like she's lost something dear to her. Hades committed crimes. Thus, he must suffer the consequences; that was what Jellal told her.

With Hades gone, her father would become king again. But, that would mean that she would be the princess again and, with the events that had just taken place, he would most definitely lock her in her room again.

She stood up, her legs trembling a little and turned back to the two bluenettes. Wendy held his hand and guided her brother towards the princess.

"We need to tell the others about Hades's downfall."

"But Jellal, what about your-"

"They're not as important as this," he grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the door. "C'mon, let's go."

* * *

After informing the others about Hades's death, the enemy army decided to fall back and they, like their leader, disappeared. Now that the battle was over, everyone tended to those who were injured and lifted their spirits.

Erza was over in the corner, speaking to her father about everything that happened, including what Hades said about her mother. Makarov's expression never changed throughout their conversation because he was disgusted at what his brother had said to her.

"What are you looking at?" Natsu grunted, staring at Gray who had bandages all over his body.

"Have you got a problem with me looking at you, idiot?" He snapped, glaring at the pinkette who was in the same position as him.

"Shut up, pervert!"

"I'm no pervert, flame brain!"

"Can you two shut the hell up?" Laxus, who happened to pass by, groaned. "Or do you want me to make your injuries even worse?"

"We're sorry!" The latter gulped, bowing numerous times.

"Oh Laxus," Mira giggled. "They already took some damage from Hades's men."

"That army didn't have any real men!" Elfman moaned angrily. "I was surprised they called it an 'army'!"

His screaming earned him a slap to the face by Evergreen. "Shut up. No one cares if there were any 'real men' in that armada."

Juvia smiled as she finished bandaging Wendy's leg, "How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay now, thanks, Juvia."

The woman pursed her lips and placed her hand on her sister's shoulder, causing Wendy to gaze up at her. "I'm sorry..."

"Why are you apologizing?"

"I was a terrible sister," Juvia whispered, pulling Wendy into her arms. "I promise that from here on out, I will always be by your side!"

Wendy nodded and returned the hug, "Thank you..."

Suddenly, Juvia noticed that the members of Fairy Tail had suddenly gone quiet. Curiosity surged through her mind as she wondered what, or who could've caused this strange phenomenon to happen.

Wendy's eyes lit up as she saw a blue haired man struggling to see where he was going.

"Big brother."

Juvia turned around and was shocked to see bloody fabric wrapped around Jellal's eyes. She and Wendy desperately walked over to him, begging the Lord above to make sure he was okay; he was their flesh and bones after all.

Jellal took cautious steps instead of, like Natsu, running around the place like a lunatic. He wanted to make sure he didn't injure himself by accidentally stepping on them. But without his vision, this was proven to be much harder. He suddenly kicked an uneven tile on the ground and felt himself falling. But instead of landing face first, he landed on something quite soft. Inhaling a scent he knew all too well, he smiled and relaxed. "Juvia, Wendy," He breathed, "Thank you."

"Idiot!" Juvia exclaimed, embracing him and Wendy tight. "What happened to you?"

"Relax, Juvia, I'm fine" Jellal sighed, wrapping his arms around both his sisters. "Thank the stars you're both okay."

Hearing the pain and worry in his voice made tears form in Juvia's eyes, "Jellal, I never thought I'd see you again..."

"Me too…" Wendy sobbed.

The man smiled and rubbed their backs soothingly with his hand; an action their father would've done a long time ago.

"I can never leave you two." He pulled his head back and rested his forehead on theirs. "Mother and father would be so proud of you two. You guys were so brave."

"No Jellal," Juvia disagreed. "They'd be proud of _all_ of us."

Hearing the affection in her voice, Jellal felt his eyes filling up with tears, making them sting a little. His lips trembled and he pulled the two back into his arms, kissing their heads numerous times.

"I love you both so much."

"We love you too, big brother," Wendy and Juvia replied, crying together with their brother.

Erza smiled and lifted her hand to wipe a tear that had formed during their reunion. She turned to her father who was smiling at the sun.

"Today, we see the dawn of a new Era."

_He was right._

_The nightmare was finally over._


	22. Chapter 22

**Good evening fellow readers, how y'all doin'? I do apologize for the super long ass wait!**

**Now, I decided to dedicate this chapter to my good friend AmnaK96 for dragging me out my hole of depression and a great big thanks to Wolfspirit44 for proof-reading my work. Thanks you two!**

**While you guys are here, I might as well tell you guys about the collab I, AmnaK96 and Wolfie are working on. It's called 'The Legend of Guardians' and it is a Jerza fanfic.**

**Welp, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter.**

**Chapter 22: One last task.**

* * *

"The injuries in his eyes aren't severe enough to cause permanent blindness," said an old woman with pink hair. Her red eyes studied Jellal's, which were the exact same color as hers, quite different from his usual color. "The glass remnants severed a couple of blood vessels in the eyes, but it'll only take a few days for him to recover."

Gray, Natsu, Erza, Wendy and Juvia, who were sitting around Jellal at the time, sighed with relief and melted into their seats, feeling as though a ton of bricks were lifted from them. It was hard for them to see a comrade of theirs in such a state, especially because he didn't deserve it. In fact, Jellal didn't deserve to be treated like an outlaw anymore.

He was a hero.

"Porlyusica, how long will it take for the man to heal?" Makarov asked as he entered the infirmary, which has been utterly destroyed because of the previous battle.

Said woman grabbed a roll of bandages and slowly wrapped it around the bluenette's eyes, being careful not to hurt him because he was in a lot of pain already.

"I don't know," she answered. "Though, he might need to lay low for the next few days while he-"

"No," Jellal interrupted, standing up abruptly, wincing as the cuts on his body bit away at him, feeling the pain gnaw away at the back of his eyes. "I'll be fine."

"Jellal," Natsu murmured and glared at his blue haired friend with narrow eyes. "You look like hammered shit."

"Watch your language, idiot!" Gray hissed, jabbing his elbow on Natsu's ribcage. "The king and princess are here!"

The pinkette felt blood rush to his cheeks when he realized that both the King and Erza were staring at him with confused expressions. He opened his mouth, chuckling nervously as he crept over to the door.

"Thank you for your help, Porlyusica," Jellal bowed to show his respect and gratitude to the woman. "I won't need any help from now."

Porlyusica rolled her eyes, "You people always pushing yourselves to the limits..." she growled, annoyance lacing through each word that left her lips. However, she turned away from her patient and gestured to the princess. "It's your turn now."

"I don't need any attention!" Erza retaliated, scuttling away from the medic. "I'm perfectly fine."

"Erza, you're just as injured as Jellal," Gray scolded, gently taking hold of her arm and staring at the laceration Hades inflicted on her. "C'mon, we need to fix these up!"

The princess huffed angrily, "Fine!"

The ravenette jumped a little at her aggressive answer. "There's no need to scream!" He exclaimed.

As Porlyusica finished bandaging her wounds, beams of golden sunlight danced upon the woman's pale, porcelain skin and the raven-haired man couldn't help but stare at her. Erza, noticing his eyes glued onto her, faced him and smiled gently. His navy-blue eyes were almost hypnotic and so very captivating.

The moment was broken when Wendy asked, "Jellal, are you okay?"

Clearing his throat awkwardly, Gray turned his attention back to the blue-haired man who, despite having bandages around his eyes, was staring at the door intensely, looking as though he was expecting someone to emerge from the wooden frame.

"You okay, man?"

The man spun around at the sound of Gray's voice, "Huh?" He questioned, turning back to the door, and cautiously walking towards it. "Forgive me, but I must be going now."

Makarov reached out to him, but then refrained himself from doing so; he couldn't allow himself to show any signs affection towards the man that threatened to kill him, especially not in front of his daughter.

"Where are you going?" The King asked, eyeing the assassin suspiciously.

"I need a breath of fresh air."

"I'll come with you." Erza pushed herself from the bed and went to join the assassin, but Gray held her hand before she could reach him, however. Agitated, she faced the ravenette and hissed, "Gray! What are y-"

The raven haired man shook his head and Erza immediately understood what he was trying to say. She mouthed an 'okay' and Gray released her hand. They watched Jellal stride out the room in complete silence; his two sisters following him closely.

As soon as they disappeared, Makarov pondered the spot where Jellal last stood. He thought about Siegrain, his best friend, and how he sacrificed his own life, and family, to make sure Makarov stayed king. Now, his son, Jellal Fernandes, saved the princess's life numerous times and even brought her home safely. The assassin risked his life for her, something Makarov was unable to do. As a result, the king would always be grateful whether he tried to kill him or not. He saved Erza; the person who was the dearest to him.

He needed to speak to Jellal Fernandes.

After a few minutes of waiting, Makarov paced out the door quickly so that he would be able to catch the bluenette.

"Father, wait!" Erza screamed. But her screams were futile because, in a split second, Makarov was gone.

"Heh," Porlyusica snorted. "He's always like that!"

* * *

Once Juvia and Wendy left the infirmary with Jellal, they were able to see the amount of damage the battle did to the castle. Rubble and significant amounts of debris littered the once perfect and elegant hallway that lead to the King's throne room, which was now destroyed thanks to Hades.

As they walked into the palace throne room, though the place was blood stained and completely destroyed due to the battle, they could still feel the power that emanated from the King's throne, and to them, it was overwhelming. The high, stained glass windows had been smashed and the glass now lay littered across the floor, making it sparkle like stars as the rays of dawn illuminated the room. The tapestries that hung from the walls were, now, nothing but shredded piece of fabric.

Though the place was absolutely wrecked, it still held as much potency as before- maybe even more.

"Where are we off to, Jellal?" Wendy questioned, taking a quick glance at him, instead of seeing the warmth of his smile, she only caught a glimpse of white bandages that concealed his dazzling hazel eyes.

"I don't know," Jellal admitted and turned around slowly to face his sister. "Now that everyone here is safe, we must head back to Crocus."

Juvia raised a brow in disagreement, "We're not leaving this place!"

"I can't stay here!" Jellal growled; he cringed when the memory of him trying to kill the King returned to him, hitting him hard like a punch to the face. "Not after all the things I've done..."

Wendy sighed and shook her head, "But, Jellal, what about the things you've done to help other people? Surely you've repented for the things you've done?"

"No, I haven't," he retaliated. "There's nothing that I can do to wash away the sins of the past."

"Those are wise words, Jellal."

The answer didn't come from Wendy, nor did it come from Juvia. Instead, it came from Makarov who was listening to the trio's' conversation. He smiled at the two ladies who, unlike Jellal, were staring at him with wide eyes. Wendy opened her mouth to speak but was silenced when the king raised his hand slowly.

"I must speak to your brother," asked the king who had a hint of desperation in his deep voice. "It's very important."

The two nodded and left them alone so that they could have a man-to-man conversation.

Makarov noticed Jellal staring at the broken glass windows and went to stand next to him, being careful not to disturb the ultramarine who was lost in his thoughts.

"You okay, son?" He asked, placing a hand above the injured man's shoulder.

Jellal faced the king, "Yes, I'm okay."

The old man chuckled and shook his head. Even though the bandages hid most of his face, Makarov could still see the pain hidden in that vacant expression of his.

"You're a terrible liar, you know?"

The bluenette smiled when he recalled the memory of Erza saying the exact same thing to him. "Nothing is bothering me, my King," he whispered. "I'm only thinking."

"What are you thinking about?"

He swallowed hard and shrugged, unable to respond to the King's question.

Makarov continued to stare at him as he waited patiently for him to answer. After minutes of waiting, the King sighed and answered his question for him. "You're thinking about leaving, aren't you?"

Jellal sighed, "My king," he started. "I don't deserve to be standing in your castle. I tried to kill you!"

"Alas, my boy, that was in the past!" Makarov reminded.

"So what if it's in the past?" Jellal questioned, his mood suddenly changed as he turned abruptly back at the king. "I am the only person responsible for my own actions. Therefore, I must take responsibility for it!"

"Jellal, I've forgiven you for the things you've done!" admitted Makarov as he tried to reason with the blue haired assassin. "You've saved my daughter, twice, and for that, I'm forever willing to forgive you for the crimes you committed."

"You might've forgiven me, King Makarov, but I've never forgiven myself." He continued to face the broken window as wondered what to do now. "The only way I could forgive myself is if I track down the rest of the people who were with Hades and kill them too…"

"You're not implying that you're off to fight them all by yourself?!"

"It's the only way I could finally forgive myself."

There was a long pause before the king spoke again. "You know, I thought I finally found a man that could sit beside Erza when she rules as Queen." Makarov smiled to himself, thinking about how Erza would look when she becomes ruler of Fiore. "But, I guess we have to wait."

Jellal gasped, "You want me to become... king?"

"Well… that was what I've been trying to imply." Makarov said cheerfully, nudging the assassin playfully.

"I'm sorry, but I have to turn that offer down."

"Why's that?"

"I don't deserve to be a king; not after the things I've done..."

"Jellal-"

"Sir," the ultramarine interrupted, "Erza is a strong woman, I'm sure she'll be able to rule the country on her own and besides, I will most definitely be by her side when she does become king. I will aid her. But now, I want to make myself a better person before I'm able to stand next to her."

Unable to argue against him, the king nodded in agreement. "Okay," he mumbled. "But you're not leaving until your eyes are completely healed, and you're going to be the one that tells Erza about your departure, understand?"

Jellal went down, leaned on one knee and bowed his head, "Of course, my Lord." He said formally. "I shall tell her soon."

"Oh, and I have another question."

"What would that be?"

"I was wondering if your comrades would stay, seeing as I need a new army."

The assassin's lips curved to form a small smile, "I'm sure they wouldn't mind helping you out."

* * *

A week had passed since Hades's death and the castle, which once looked like a complete wreck, had now been rebuilt thanks to the help of the Guild members who gladly stayed and supported their king.

"Natsu!" Gray screamed, chasing the pinkette down the hallway. "Get back here, you idiot!"

Natsu, waving Gray's pants around like a trophy, giggled and quickened his pace, "My name isn't Natsu!" He reminded, peering over his shoulder to make sure he was a good distance away from the half-naked man. "It's 'Sir Natsu'!"

"It'll soon be a 'dead Natsu'!" Gray snarled, reaching out to grab Natsu's scarf.

"You can catch-"

Before he could continue, someone, conveniently, stuck their leg out, making Natsu trip and fall face first onto the floor. Gray stopped running, pointed at the groaning pinkette and burst out in uncontrollable laughter.

"You're a complete idiot, you know that?!" He exclaimed mockingly, unaware of the person shaking their head behind him.

"The king gave the both of you a knighthood, yet you're still acting like idiots?"

Upon hearing that voice, Gray's blood froze in his veins and he felt a chill creep up his spine, forcing him to shiver inwardly.

"Laxus!" Natsu screamed, gritting his teeth at the blonde. "What the hell was that for?!"

"We work for the king now; as a result, you guys must behave like mature soldiers!" He turned to Gray who was still snickering at the pinkette. "As for you, Gray, have some decency and put some clothes on."

The ravenette pointed at Natsu and grumbled something that Laxus barely understood. "Speak like a human, will ya?" The blonde growled, rolling his eyes in annoyance.

The group fell silent as they heard the sound of boots hitting the ground at a steady pace; the noise echoed across the large hallway and they turned to see two beautiful blue haired girls, strolling over to them. One of them wore a breastplate and a blue skirt, while the other one, who was obviously younger than the woman beside her, wore a simple dress.

"Juvia," Gray looked around frantically for his pants because he saw his girlfriend's expression immediately darkened. "How are ya doing?"

The blue haired woman narrowed her eyes at him, "You really need to control that habit of yours!"

"Have you guys seen Jellal anywhere?" asked Wendy, who seemed a little oblivious about the situation going on between Gray and Natsu.

"Last time I saw him," The group turned to see Cana Alberona swaying from side to side. As always, she carried a bottle of booze in one hand and the other hand was waving around in the air. "He went with Erza somewhere!"

Wendy beamed at the drunken brunette, "I wonder what he's up to?"

Cana took another swing at her alcohol and smiled wryly at the young girl, "You know, I heard that Jellal and Erza are getting it-"

"That's enough, Cana." Juvia sighed, interrupting her before she could any further and ruin Wendy's innocent mind. "I'm sure he's busy at the moment."

* * *

Jellal lifted both his hands and pressed them over his bandaged eyes; for a week, all Jellal could see was nothing but complete darkness. He missed seeing all the vibrant colors the world had in store for him. But most importantly, he really missed the color of her beautiful hair.

Scarlet.

The color he named her after so that he would never forget her. Of course, he wouldn't forget the woman he fell in love with. No, because to Jellal, Erza wasn't just his lover, she was his savior because she was the person that was able to reach out to him when he was devoured by painful memories of his childhood. She told him to move on despite being shackled by his own haunting past. She was the light that guided him.

But because of the notorious things that he had done in his lifetime, he now knew that Princess Erza was a woman that he could never be with until he was finally willing to forgive himself. That night, he was unable to control himself, he was just so angry at the fact that Makarov sentenced his father to death when, really, he didn't do anything wrong. That night, he lost his discipline; as a result, he had to face the consequences.

Even though he almost killed her father, Erza still forgave him. After all, he did save her life many times which, to Erza, would seem like Jellal has finally atoned for his sins but, she was wrong. He was still not satisfied with it and knew that he must do more to repent because he wanted to make himself a better person before Erza became Queen.

Before he could decide on what to do, his thoughts were interrupted when someone wrapped their arms around his waist and nuzzled their face into his back. A small smiled tugged at his lips and he lowered his hand to hold person's arm.

"Erza," He gasped, shocked by her sudden appearance in his room. He slowly removed her arms from him and faced her. "What are you doing here?"

The princess raised a brow, "Porlyusica told me to remove your bandages."

Upon hearing this, Jellal warmed up a little and backed away slowly from her, waving his hands in front of her face frantically. "There's no need for that!" He reasoned. "I can do it myself!"

"Don't be ridiculous. I'm here now, so I might as well do it."

"But-"

"Fine," Erza threw up her hands and in defeat and spun around. "If you don't want me to help, I'll let you get on with it."

Jellal sighed and pressed a hand over his forehead, wondering why Erza was so persistent; the truth was he never really wanted to leave her. To be honest, he just wanted her by his side to keep him company and he still needed to think of a way to tell her that he was, in fact, leaving for a little while.

"Wait," murmured Jellal as he caught her hand and pulled her back. "I was just messing around."

Erza smiled warmly at him, raised her hands and as gently as she could, began removing the bandages. "So, how have you been? We never really had a chance to speak after what happened."

He shrugged, "I guess I've been okay."

"That's good."

The bluenette bit his lip; the anticipation was killing him and he really needed to tell her about what was going to happen, otherwise Makarov wouldn't be very happy. He could've just left without saying anything, but he knew that it would cause more bad than good.

"Erza, there's something I need to tell you." He blurted, and then mentally punched himself at how cheesy he sounded.

The redhead narrowed her eyes in curiosity, "Really? What would that be?"

"U-uh," He stammered, feeling his mouth dry up all of a sudden. "W-well… you see..."

"Hm?"

"Makarov gave a mission and I'll be going away for quite a long time." He said, without pausing.

"What?" gasped Erza as she stopped what she was doing and stared at Jellal who was now panting heavily for air.

"Must I repeat myself?" He questioned.

"No..." she continued with working the bandages in silence, unable to bring herself to speak up.

Jellal noticed her lack of communication, "I'm sorry." He said suddenly.

"Why are you apologizing?"

"I should have told you sooner," he whispered, lowering his face.

"Don't be like this, Jellal." Erza pulled off the last bit of fabric and stared at his eyes which were closed. "I just wasn't expecting this. And, you can open your eyes now."

His eyelashes fluttered gently and his eyelids opened to expose a pair of vibrant hazel eyes which were a little red from closing them for too long. He focused on the woman in front of him and squinted to adjust his vision. Erza cupped his face when she noticed his eyes break contact with hers.

"Look at me."

As soon as his eyes connected with hers, he immediately saw the pain in her eyes and a pang of guilt slammed into his chest. He could see the smile she forced upon her lips and he could feel himself growing nervous with each passing minute.

"Don't be upset," The assassin ran his fingers through her hair and then stared at a loose strand that was hanging from his thumb. "I wanted to help your father."

"I know the reason for your departure and that is definitely not it. You still want to atone for the things you've done, am I right?"

"Yeah..."

"Why Jellal?" She asked, shaking her head. "You've already been forgiven by my father and me. Why do you want to go through all of this?"

"Because I am a man of many crimes and it just doesn't feel right for me to be standing beside you, knowing that the burden I carry might drag you down with me," He explained. "I don't deserve to be with you, yet."

"Jellal, you-"

"Shh," he hushed, pressing a finger on her lips. "Give me some time, okay?"

Defeated, Erza closed her eyes and nodded; she would give him all the time in the world if it meant that he would make himself worthy for her and they would, one day, happily spend their lives together. But it would seem like they needed to wait.

Because good things happen to those who wait patiently.

"Fine," she huffed. "But promise me something."

"I'll do anything for you, Erza."

"Promise me you'll come back."

"Princess," He grabbed her hand, pressed it over his beating heart and moved his face closer, pressing his lips upon hers and kissing her softly. "I promise that I will return for you and that this will be a promise that I will never break.


End file.
